


We're Bad Men, But We Ain't Them

by WritersBlock_MyOldFriend



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Basically a gay Red Dead Redemption 2 without the sadness, Canonical Character Death, F/F, Outlaw Nicole Haught, Really they're all outlaws, Yee-haw Nicole Haught, alternate universe - wild west, well sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:22:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 55,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21844372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritersBlock_MyOldFriend/pseuds/WritersBlock_MyOldFriend
Summary: Nicole is worried. Nicole is worried because it's 1899 and the world is changing. There's no room for people like her in this new civilized society. No room for outlaws anymore. At least, that's what the newspapers and lawmen keep telling her. That's what Doc keeps telling her, and Doc isn't telling her a lot these days. There ain't no room for people like her, but a strange young woman tries to convince Nicole otherwise.
Relationships: Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught, Wynonna Earp/Doc Holliday, Xavier Dolls/Wynonna Earp
Comments: 52
Kudos: 317





	1. All This Damn Snow

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when I play rdr 2 for two weeks straight and then rewatch Wynonna Earp. I used all the city and state names from the game, but I WON'T be following the exact rdr 2 storyline so no worries.

The cold air seeped in through the cabins rotting boards, the scream of the wind echoing in the small valley the gang had hunkered down in for the time being. They had been on the run for a few weeks now, fleeing Blackwater in such a hurry that most of them had only grabbed the essentials. A few changes of clothes, the odd can of food, a few spare bullets, and whatever gun holstered on their hips at the time. Nicole hoped Doc knew what he was doing, but she figured he was just as lost as the rest of them. She reached for the hat on the small nightstand, a black rodeo hat that had once belonged to her father. It was worn in places, and she always said she would get it repaired when she had the money. It just never seemed like she had the money.

“Nicole!” Gus yelled through the door, followed by a loud pounding onto the door’s cracked wood, “Get up, Doc’s looking for ya.”

Nicole sighed, grabbing her fur-lined jacket and slinging it over her first layer of clothes, thanking whatever force was out there that she had grabbed it last minute when they were high-tailing it out of the city. She grabbed her holster and adjusted it to fit around the extra bulk of the jacket before tugging on her worn boots. Gus was at the door again, banging hard enough on the wood Nicole feared the door would crack down the middle.

“Morning, Mrs. McCready,” Nicole drawled while opening the door, her voice still thick with sleep.

“Dammit, girl, Doc has been on a rampage all morning.” Nicole tipped her hat towards the older woman, moving towards the kitchen fire. Gus McCready was the gang’s matriarch. Her and her husband, Curtis, had been in the gang longer than Nicole had been alive. Gus was the one who had made sure Nicole always had something to wear and eat when she was still just a child. Gus had dressed her and fed her the entire first year Nicole was in the gang, waving away any money Nicole had managed to scrounge up at thirteen years old. Gus might have been a tyrant when it came to doing chores, but she was not a mean woman despite the image she had carved for herself amongst the girls.  
“What’s new, he’s tryin’ to keep all of us alive. You can’t blame him.” Nicole shrugged, holding her hands out towards the fire. Gus leveled her with a stare, her dark brown eyes daring Nicole to be snippy again, “Okay, where is he?”

“He went out to the boy’s cabin,” Nicole nodded, bracing herself from the icy wind she would face when she opened the door. She had been the one to find their current camp, an abandoned mine high up in the mountains. The winter was stubbornly hanging on this high in elevation, an advantage when one was hiding out but a disadvantage when it came to finding food for fifteen people. Nicole’s feet sunk unpleasantly into the snow when she stepped out from the warmth of the cabin, her teeth already chattering despite the heavy jacket. She wasn’t used to the cold, having grown up in the South and then moved with the gang throughout the dusty west. The gang had hidden out in the lower parts of the mountains when she was sixteen, but that had been during the spring and summer months and at the first sign of winter they had left. Those few months didn’t prepare her for the five feet of snow she had to wade through just to get to the other cabins. The door to the cabin creaked loudly, the sound of the men inside getting louder as the barrier was taken away.

“We can’t survive much longer with the provisions we have,” Shorty complained, his grip on the whiskey bottle not letting up at his words. He had never been much of a drinker, but Nicole swore she had seen him with a bottle ever since they left Blackwater.

“We can’t move yet; the passes are too dangerous for the wagons.” Dolls interrupted, “We’re either gonna have to go hunting or find a friendly family willing to feed the lot of us.”

“I’ve sent Bobo out ahead of us if he finds anything he’ll get it back to us.” Doc waved Dolls off, sticking a cigarillo in his mouth. 

“Well, I’m sorry if my faith in a man who hasn’t been here but three months isn’t too strong.” Dolls scoffed, placing his hands on his jutted hips.

“Gentlemen,” Nicole cut in, feeling the air in the cabin shift as the two men faced off with each other. Doc and Dolls had a turbulent relationship, to say the least. They complimented each other nicely, with Dolls’ natural steadfastness guiding Doc’s crazy plans and hot temper. Doc was charming but a scoundrel and Dolls was the only one willing to call him out on it. Dolls was different from the others in the gang, a survivor. He had escaped the South at the end of the war at just eleven years old and found Doc shortly after, the two teaming up for the first phase of their lives as outlaws. Dolls had been the one to convince Doc to take in Nicole when she found herself orphaned. Doc and Dolls were the closest thing she had to brothers, but Dolls was the one who truly saved her and she never forgot that. “Let’s keep it together,” She ordered, staring down both men.

Doc huffed at the correction. He was older than Dolls’ forty-six by three or so years, but at times it seemed like he was immortal, and at other times it seemed like he was fourteen. His mustache twitched as he skimmed the room, his hands on his hips like Dolls’ had been. “Food first, we can’t let the women and children starve.” The group around him began to nod, glancing at each other nervously.

“I’ll go,” Dolls offered, the other glancing between each other as Doc locked eyes with Dolls.

“Thank you, Mr. Dolls,” Doc finally sighed, the nervousness that had previously been in the room dissipating quickly now that a fight wasn’t brewing, “Anyone else willing to face the cold for the betterment of the camp?”

“I’ll go with him,” Nicole spoke up, nodding her head to Doc.

“Nicole,” Doc whispered almost in reverence, before he continued, “Perfect. The rest of you make yourselves useful. We need firewood and any supplies you can find.” The men nodded, the sound of scraping chairs over wood reverberating off the bare walls of the cabin as the men began to file out into the snow. 

* * *

Nicole huffed as she tightened her horse’s saddle straps. Dolls’ face was pinched uncertainly, examining the repeater in his hand. Dolls had lots of weapons, both for hunting and fighting, but he seemed to appreciate certain weapons more than others.

“Here, we’ll need to use the bows, a gunshot could attract too much attention.” Nicole quipped a brow at him, glancing at the thick snow that surrounded them. “Curtis and Nedley spotted some of Clootie’s men last night, staking us out from the trees.”

“Does Doc know?” Nicole asked, glancing around the rock faces that looked over the camp.

“Nedley warned him, but Doc knew they were gonna be up here. They’re running from Blackwater, same as us. Hopefully, they won’t cause any trouble.

“Clootie not causing any trouble? Hard to imagine,” Nicole sighed, storing the bow into her saddle, “You sure you’re gonna be okay out there,” Nicole questioned, waiting for Dolls to look at her, “I know you have a thing, about the woods.” Dolls smiled at her, nodding his head.

“I’ll be fine, as long as I’m not alone.”

“Never,” Nicole reassured, grinning at him. She would have never said such a thing to Doc or even Jeremy, but Dolls warranted such softness. The man had been through enough hardships in his life but had still managed to remain kind, which was something Nicole couldn’t say about herself. 

“Good, c’mon, the storm’s died down, so they’ll be looking for food.”

They mounted their horses, the squeak of the saddle settling Nicole’s restless heart. They had been cooped inside the camp for three days, and that short time alone had Nicole on edge. She rarely liked staying in one place, even more so if that place was covered in snow. The wind whipped up clouds of the stuff, covering her clothes as the dust did out west. Dolls was a few paces ahead of her, his American paint horse easily making a path for her own horse.

“There’s tracks over here,” Dolls mumbled, most likely to himself. “Looks like they crossed the river,”

He eased his horse into the river, the stallion’s nose flared at the shock of cold water, but he didn’t stomp through the water like Nicole expected. Nicole followed, her horse letting out a loud whinny that she feared would scare off any game. Dolls seemed to catch onto her thoughts as he shook his head at her grimace, silently reassuring her that they’d be fine. They continued further into the trees, the horses breathing the only sound between the two friends.

“We should dismount and follow on foot from here,” Dolls said, quickly dismounting his horse and taking out his own bow. Nicole followed, crouching behind him as they tracked the trail into a small river embankment. Nicole could see a small group of deer on the other side of the river, her eyes nervously glancing at the icy water. Dolls stepped into the water without hesitation, the deepest parts reaching his chest. Nicole huffed in a similar fashion to Dolls’ horse, but followed him anyway, clenching her jaw as the icy water filled her boots and hit her stomach. Her foot slipped on the icy embankment as she neared Dolls, her jaw clenched to keep from chattering.  
“You aim for the far right one. I’ll aim for the one on the far left.” Dolls whispered when she was finally beside him. Nicole nodded, observing the deer for a minute before pulling back the string as she aimed at her respected deer. She wasn’t used to hunting with a bow, and the feel of it felt bizarre. The sound of the wood creaking caused her to glance at the deer in her sights, the animal apparently not aware of anything different.

“Shoot when you’re ready.” Dolls reassured, his own bow pulled back, his muscular arms locked in the ready position. Nicole breathed deeply, pulling back on the bow again and taking aim. She breathed out as she let the arrow fly, watching as the deer’s body convulse once and then fell. She could hear a scream from the deer Dolls shot, most likely a lung shot, before silence fell over the area.  
“We got ‘em,” Dolls grinned, jostling her slightly and whistling for his horse as he stood fully.

“Yeah, we just had to almost freeze to death,” Nicole replied, shaking the ice already forming on her wet jacket.

“Nonsense,” Dolls chuckled and jumped over the river embankment, the cold not seeming to bother him, “My jacket’s waterproof,” he grinned, back at her taking his horse reins and leading him closer to the fallen deer.

Nicole gaped at Dolls as he and his waterproof jacket moved through the snow with ease. She finally whistled for her own horse, listening to the sound of hooves pounding against the frozen ground before he came into view. She had spent a pretty penny on the dark bay horse, a Dutch Warmblood, and she had come to be very fond of the animal. The horse huffed at her, crossing the river and up the embankment towards Dolls’ horse. Nicole moved up the embankment, trudging through the snow to her own deer. She hoisted it onto her shoulder and waddled to strap it down onto her horse.

“This will be good for the camp,” Dolls acknowledged, patting the deer on his own horse, “They aren’t as skinny as I expected them to be, and well-muscled from the snow,”

Nicole poked at the deer on her horse, the flesh beneath her finger giving slightly but not like it would had it been mostly fat. Her horse shifted beneath her and Nicole wondered if he hated the snow as much as she did.

“Let’s get moving. The quicker we get back to camp, the better,” Nicole said, spurring her horse lightly, the stallion not needing much encouragement.

The two friends rode silently for a bit, Dolls checking his surroundings every few minutes, his breathing slow and deliberate. Nicole always noticed it but never asked why he was afraid of the woods. She suspected it had something to do when he was running as a kid and figured if he wanted to share his story, he would. It wasn’t a secret by any means. The whole gang knew he was afraid to be alone in the woods. And Nicole had taken it upon herself to make sure that he was never in the woods by himself, she owed him that much at least.

They rode straight to camp, the fear of getting lost in a blizzard very real in Nicole’s mind. Shorty met them at the hitching post and was nearly giddy at seeing the deer on the backs of their horses, a wide grin spread across his round face as he ushered them into his makeshift kitchen. Shorty was one of the old-timers the gang had, older than both Doc and Dolls, but he had no interest in telling anybody what to do. Instead, Shorty was in charge of the chuck wagon and, more times than not, distributing booze. He was known for his stories and his signature moonshine recipe. He could cook anything, and preparing an entire meal out of a few staples was a must for the ever-traveling gang.

“Just put ‘em over there, kids,” Shorty gruffed, but the wide smile on his face told Nicole he wasn’t in a foul mood. “Y’all see any sign of Bobo out there?”

“No,” Dolls grunted, hoisting the deer off the horse and into the kitchen.

“I swear,” Shorty grumbled, “I don’t know why Doc is so easily trusting of that bastard.”

Nicole chuckled, laying her own deer onto the kitchen floor. “Not sure, but I do know that he’s probably warmer than the rest of us with that fur coat he has.”

“That insufferable coat, the man’s flamboyant as he is obnoxious. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that Doc is taking it from the prick.” He paused briefly, “No offense, Haught,”

Dolls rolled his eyes, moving to the nearly empty whiskey bottle on the sink. He unsuspiciously grabbed the bottle and shoved it into his satchel, placing a finger over his mouth to signal Nicole not to say anything.

“None taken, Shorty. You need any help with these deer?” Nicole asked a small grin on her face at Dolls’ antics.

“Oh! No, I don’t think so, you two go! Food will be ready soon enough.”

Dolls and Nicole quickly left before he realized his whiskey was gone. Nicole chuckled as she glanced back at Dolls, pointing to his satchel, “You planning on sharing or?”

“I just took it cause he’s already three sheets to the wind. You can have it if you want,” He offered, taking the bottle from his satchel.

“Sure, thanks. And thanks for the bow.” Dolls nodded, heading back to his cabin, leaving Nicole alone in the snow.

* * *

“Nicole! Nicole!” Doc yelled through the door, his voice in a whisper yell as he lightly jarred the door.

Nicole woke with a start, staring at the door for a minute before realizing it was Doc. She stumbled out of bed, grabbing her coat as she went.

“What?” She asked, slinging open the door. It was dark in the cabin, and she could barely make out the man in front of her.

“Load up, Bobo found a homestead a few miles away.”

“We have to go now?” Nicole asked, glancing around the dark cabin as her eyes adjusted.

“Bobo says it looks like a party right now. Bunch of people celebrating means booze, they’re more likely to welcome us.”

Nicole huffed but nodded, “Give me a minute.” She pulled on her boots and holster and tugged her hat down low to block the cold air she was about to be exposed to outside. Doc and Bobo were already mounted on their horses waiting for her. “Any reason you couldn’t have gotten Dolls to do this?”

“Dolls is currently occupied,” Doc huffed, his agitation from earlier becoming clear. The biggest instigator between the men, Wynonna Earp. Nicole wasn’t sure why the two were so competitive over the girl, she had been in the gang for almost as long as Nicole had. When she first arrived, all the men had traded her around like a common whore even though Wynonna Earp wasn’t some common whore. Wynonna rode with them often: robbing trains and stagecoaches, rustling cattle and horses, and getting in shoot outs with rival gangs. She was the only other woman in camp who wore men’s clothes, called herself a new age woman. Then Wynonna got pregnant and had Alice, which caused an even bigger wedge between the two men. Wynonna didn’t seem bothered by the prospect of having both men, a true modern woman, if Nicole had ever seen one, but the two men seemed content with the animosity between them.

“Any more questions, Red?” Bobo sneered, his smile like a wolf baring its teeth. He had joined the gang three months ago, his eccentric fashion sense and manipulative nature appealing to Doc immediately.

“Let’s go,” Doc ordered, spurring his horse into action, “How far did you say this was?”

“Just a couple of miles,” Bobo reassured, grabbing the lantern from his saddlebag and illuminating his face. “Don’t get lost. You’d freeze to death before we even knew you were gone.”

Nicole pulled out her own lantern, the little gas fire casting shadows off the snow. She could barely make out Bobo’s lantern a few feet ahead of her, the snow slanting as it fell, creating a thin veil before her horse, blocking her vision. She followed the bobbing light over an icy hill, her horse’s footing shifting over the frozen ground unpleasantly.

“It’s just a bit further, turn off your lanterns,” Bobo called back to them, slowing his horse as he reached the top of the hill.

“Seems like a house full,” Doc commented, looking at the well-lit homestead.

“Told ya, it looks like they’re having a party,” Bobo shrugged, his nonchalance annoying Nicole.

“Fall in boys, we’ll get closer and dismount.” Doc sighed, leading the way down the hill and towards the homestead. “You two hide yourselves if there’s any trouble I want to have the upper hand.” Nicole nodded, already leading her horse to a small thicket of trees. She quickly dismounted, ordering her horse to stay and then wading her way through the snow to behind a small shed. She glanced over to Bobo, hunkered down behind an outhouse. Doc maneuvered his way up the path, his lantern swinging in every direction as he did so, casting gnarled shadows over the snow. He knocked three times on the door, the sound inside the homestead dying quickly. A large man swung the door open, his face set in a grimace.

“Hello!” Doc called, his charming persona he used to get his way on full display, “sorry for disturbing you fellas so late. I’m afraid me and my party got lost down a way,” The man squinted at Doc, his heavy eyebrows low on his face. “We would really appreciate maybe a bit of supplies, just to get us back down to civilization.” Doc chuckled at his own joke, the man at the door was joined by a smaller man.

“I think you better be on your way,” The smaller man said, his voice grating in a thick southern accent.

“Of course, gentleman. I guess generosity is not common in these parts,” Doc said, his voice clear but agitated. Nicole had seen him do it before, mock people’s character to make them do what he wants. It seemed the men at the door were keen on his trickery as well, both stiffening.

“What did you say?” The smaller man said, his voice a higher octave. The larger man moved his arms, his right hand going to his holster. Nicole drew her gun, firing one quick round into the man’s skull.

“Shit!” The smaller man yelled, drawing his gun only to get blown away by Doc’s precise bullet.

Men began to fall out of the cabin, most of them stumbling through the snow drunkenly pawing at the weapons on their hips. Their movements were sloppy, the bullets they managed to fire off whizzed by Nicole’s head in deathly screams. She fired three more rounds, the unfortunate souls making no sound as they hit the snow-covered ground. Just as quickly as the firing started, it ended, the smell of smoke and gunpowder in the air and the barrel of Nicole’s revolver still hot.

“Thank you, Nicole.” Doc sighed, kicking the man closest to him. He holstered his weapon, spinning it around his finger in a flashy move. “Check these men for anything valuable and meet me in the house.”

Nicole and Bobo split, Bobo going to check the bodies on the right of the house, and Nicole going to check the ones on the left. The bodies steamed in the cold air, their eyes already turning glassy, and their clothes soaked through in a combination of blood, piss, and shit. Most of the men didn’t have anything valuable, a gold wedding band and two silver pocket watches were all Nicole had for her troubles. She pulled the shirt collar of one man down, revealing a vertical curved line with two hash marks, one curved at the top and one straight through the bottom third of the line, branded into the skin.

“These are Clootie’s men,” Nicole announced, pulling the shirt collar down more, allowing Bobo to see the brand.

“Broke ass bastards,” Bobo huffed, taking a belt buckle off one of the bodies.

“So are we,” Nicole argued, letting the shirt collar slip through her fingers, looking away from the young man still bleeding in the snow. Bobo chuckled at that, his teeth in that same grimace from earlier, “Indeed we are,”

Nicole made her way to the cabin, the warm light from inside a beacon in the dark wilderness. Doc was going through cabinets when she walked in, a body lying to the right of the door as one entered.

“Poor bastard,” Doc sighed, “That’s the feller who lived here, or at least I think so. Looks like they shot ‘im the moment he answered the door.”

The man’s face was peeled back unsightly, the flesh clinging stubbornly to his cheek and jaw bones, his opened eyes splattered with blood.

“Jesus,” Nicole sighed, stepping around the blood splattered on the floor, “The men outside had Clootie’s brand,”

Doc opened a cupboard and rifled through it, “Well then, I’m glad we killed the bastards.” They had met a lot of rival gangs during their travels, but Clootie’s Gang was the one Doc despised most. Years before Nicole joined the gang, Doc and Clootie had a deal go sour making enemies of the two. Clootie himself was no longer alive, he swung for the murder of a rich man in West Elizabeth. Rumor had it that Doc was the one to alert the law of his presence in the state. Clootie’s wife and sons took up the mantle in running the gang, and in a way, that was worse. They had something to settle with Doc leading to a bitter feud between the two gangs. “Search the house for provisions and anything else, nothing is too small,” Doc ordered, pocketing some bread and then moved on to the kitchen sink. Nicole climbed the ladder to the upstairs, plucking jewelry and a small coin purse from the upstairs bedroom. She moved to the chest, finding a billfold and a pack of store-bought cigarettes. She placed a cigarette between her teeth, striking a match against her pants to light the cigarette. Nicole climbed down the ladder, moving towards the kitchen to grab a few cans of baked beans, a can of peaches, some salted beef, and a bottle of whiskey. It seemed mechanical at this point, checking houses is what Doc called it. Robbing houses is what they were actually doing, but considering the homeowner was dead, Nicole figured the items wouldn’t be missed. A scream cut through the silence that had come over the homestead after the shoot-out, a distinct, distressed woman’s scream accompanied by Bobo’s hollers.

“What in the hell,” Nicole muttered to herself, running out of the house with Doc on her heels.

“Look what I found!” Bobo yelled, dodging a small woman’s knife holding fists, “She’s gone crazy,”

“She hasn’t gone crazy!” Doc argued, standing between Bobo and the stranger. Nicole shoved Bobo out of the way, the large man stumbling back into the snow from the force of the push.

“Miss,” Doc called, “Miss, it’s okay. We aren’t gonna hurt you,” The woman looked up at him then, a veil of consciousness falling over her eyes. Nicole realized the stranger was younger than first imagined, maybe only twenty, give or take a few years. “We’re not gonna hurt you. We have food and supplies down a ways,”

The stranger looked between Bobo, Nicole, and Doc her breath still coming out raggedly and the knife still firmly in her grasp.

“It’s all going to be okay,” Doc reassured, his usual gruff voice comforting as he held his hand out for the knife. The stranger’s shoulders slumped, a sigh frosting in the night air around her as she handed Doc the knife. “You’re okay now, Miss,” Doc quickly took his own jacket off, wrapping it around the small woman’s frame previously only covered by a nightshift. “Nicole,” Doc called, allowing Nicole to take the stranger’s hands and lead her to the horses, her small body shivering against the cold.

“It’s okay, Miss. We’re bad men, but we ain't them.” Nicole reassured, leading the woman to Doc’s horse and helping her onto the white Arabian.

“What’s your name, Miss?” Doc asked, spurring his horse into movement.

“Waverly,” The woman said, her voice small, “They came last night, my father. They killed my father,”

“It’s okay, Miss Waverly, you’re safe now,” Doc reassured, his horse picking up speed despite the perilous environment.

They made it to the camp in half the time it took them to get to the homestead, the horses snorting in agitation, their sides heaving from the effort of running through the snow.

“We need some help out here!” Doc’s gruff voice yelled, “Get out here!” He ordered, helping Waverly off of the horse. Gus was the first out the door, followed by Curtis. The rest rushed out of their cabins; their clothes sleep rumpled and hair wild.

“We ran into some trouble up there, Clootie’s men, they killed this poor girl’s father. Mrs. McCready, take this poor girl inside, get her warm. Shorty, get her some hot food, maybe some whiskey if you can spare it.”

“Wynonna?” Waverly whispered, her voice wavering, her face pale. Wynonna looked up at her name, her shirt buttoned at odd angles and a bruise forming on the underside of her jaw. Words couldn’t describe the range of emotions that passed over Wynonna’s face as she stared at the woman. Her face paled, her eyes widen, and her mouth dropped in shock before a deep sigh left her lips.

“Babygirl,” Wynonna gasped, rushing over to the small woman and wrapping her up in her arms. Waverly let out a soft cry as Wynonna bearhugged her, going limp at the force of the hug. Wynonna pulled back, shock written across her face, “You grew out your,” She glanced all over Waverly before settling on her face, “hair,” Waverly grinned at her, tilting her head in contemplation.

“You know each other then?” Doc called, looking between the two.

Wynonna straightened her spine, her shoulders shifting back as she stood protectively in front of the other woman, “This is my little sister,” Wynonna said, a bite to her words. Silence fell over the camp at the admission, no one meeting each other’s eyes. Nicole’s eyes kept going between Wynonna to Waverly to Doc to Dolls and then back to Waverly. Gus broke the silence, the usual stoic woman’s voice soft and comforting but still firm.

“My Lord, let’s get the child inside, everything’s going to be alright,” Gus reassured, putting her arms around both Wynonna and Waverly. “Shorty, get some stew, or something dammit the girl is shivering!”

Nicole watched as Gus led Wynonna and Waverly inside, Curtis, even in his union suit, standing on the porch to give the women privacy. Doc grumbled to himself, handing Jeremy the reins to his horse and disappearing deeper into the camp. She was left alone in the middle of the well-worn path, watching as the lights in each cabin were blown out, leaving the camp in darkness.

* * *

“We have to get out of these mountains,” Doc sighed, a cigarillo hanging from his mouth.

He and Nicole were smoking on the porch of Doc’s cabin, the smell of food delightfully filling the camp. Doc had waited a week for things to settle down before planning on how to move the fifteen plus people down a mountain. To be honest, he had probably been planning before then but Nicole had not been privy to his planning. He was talking in the way Doc did when he had a plan, dramatic pauses and a thickening of his drawl. Nicole remembered when she was younger and how Doc’s voice scared her a bit. The unidentifiable accent and the underlying growl of his voice, completely and utterly unique to anything the thirteen-year-old had heard at the time.

“Are you listening, Nicole,” Doc’s voice cut through, startling her for a moment.

“Hmm, sorry,” Doc huffed, flicking ash off the end of his cigarillo,

“I think we should leave in a day or two,”

“What about the passes, Dolls said they were still too dangerous for the wagons,”

“Well, frankly, I think it’s worth the risk. We got nearly twenty people here, including a child. We aren’t gonna last too much longer on this godforsaken mountain,”

Nicole nodded, throwing her cigarette out into the snow, “I can talk to Gus, see if she and the girls can start packing the wagons,”

Doc grinned, his mustache hiding half of it as he said, “That’s the attitude I’m looking for, Miss Haught.”

Gus agreed to get the girls together to start loading the wagons, with Curtis and Shorty helping with the heavier gear. Dolls still wasn’t sold on the idea of leaving while the pass down the mountain was so icy, but Doc was persistent, and he did have a point. The two deer they had killed a few weeks ago were gone, and the few bits of food they had left weren’t even enough to create a stew. Nicole helped Rosita load a large chest onto the wagon, Doc’s personal chest, when she caught sight of Wynonna behind one of the many cabins in the campsite. After heaving the chest into the wagon and tying it down to the boards, Nicole excused herself to catch up to Wynonna.

There wasn’t much catching up to do, Wynonna was still standing behind the cabin Nicole had first seen her, black men’s shirt unbuttoned at the top with Doc’s Montana jacket over it. She was leaned against the back wall of the cabin, an empty whiskey bottle in her hand.

“I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to be helping load up,” Nicole drawled, Wynonna’s head snapping towards the sound of her voice.

“Please,” Wynonna sighed, “you really think _I’m_ gonna help load a wagon?”

“No,” Nicole agreed, walking closer to Wynonna, “a little early for whiskey, ain’t it?”

“To keep me warm,” Wynonna argued, “Anyway, there was barely any left. Shorty’s bottle,” Wynonna threw the bottle onto the ground, shutting her eyes for a moment. Then her eyes snapped open, a grin spreading over her face, “But I bet you have some on you,” At Nicole’s incredulous look, Wynonna continued, “You’re always finding the good stuff, and you barely drink,” She paused for a moment, looking at Nicole with an unreadable expression, “And you robbed the homestead,”

Nicole didn’t need to ask which homestead Wynonna was referring to; it was still at the forefront of her mind. Waverly’s ghostly figure around the camp a constant reminder. Nicole rolled her eyes but pulled the full whiskey bottle from her satchel and handed it over, “Go easy, at least,”

Wynonna grabbed the bottle with both hands, biting down on the cork and yanking it out with her teeth before taking a large swig. Nicole shook her head, reaching to take the bottle back. “Calm yourself,” Wynonna groaned, swatting Nicole’s hand away, “I’m not gonna go crazy, we have a long trip ahead of us,”

“You know where we’re going?” Nicole asked, pleased to see Wynonna take a smaller sip.

“Doc said something about a little town called Valentine, little ranching town in New Hanover.”

“Ranching towns, filled with mud and drunkards,” Nicole commented. Wynonna nodded, taking one last swing of whiskey before capping it.

“Thanks for this, by the way,”

Nicole nodded, “Just try to make it last,”

“Hmm, maybe,”

“How’s your sister doing?” Nicole blurted out, unsure of why she was even asking. Nicole had seen Waverly move throughout the camp during the past week, her shoulders rounded and her eyes downcast. Waverly might not have been doing terrible, but she obviously wasn’t doing great.

“Well, she saw daddy’s brains splatter on the wall, but all in all she’s fine,”

Nicole flinched at the words, the image of the corpse in the homestead still fresh in her mind’s eye, “I’m sorry we couldn’t have been there sooner,”

“Don’t be,” Wynonna waved her off, “I hate that Waverly had to see it, but daddy was a drunken bastard. For what he did to us growing up, he deserved a lot worse than an immediate death,”

Nicole didn’t know how true that was but wasn’t going to argue with the hard lines sketched across Wynonna’s face. Instead, Nicole pushed off the cabin’s wall, her feet stumbling in the snow slightly, “Try to at least pack something of importance,” Her foot slipped on a patch of renegade ice, panic seizing her throat before she caught herself, “We leave tomorrow,”


	2. Ranching Towns, Full of Shit and Cowboys

The wagon veered off the path, Nedley swearing under his breath as Nicole white-knuckled the wooden side of her seat. The horses snorted as the brush slapped against their muscular legs. 

“Sorry, ladies,” Nedley gruffed, steering the horses back onto the path. Nicole was used to being grouped with the guys, and it was hard not to be when she was regularly outnumbered one to five. Nedley, however, made it a point never to group her with the guys and instead would always address Nicole directly when she was in a group. Randy Nedley had been just shy of fifty when Nicole had been taken in by the gang. If Doc and Dolls were like her brothers, then Nedley was the closest thing she had to a father. He and his wife already had a daughter, Chrissy, and that seemed to make taking care of Nicole more important to Nedley. Gus made sure she never wanted for anything, and Nedley and his wife shared their tent. The wagon bumped back onto the path, connecting the wagon chain once again. Wynonna sped past the wagon on her horse, Waverly riding sidesaddle tucked into her sister’s back.

“Damn, old man. Sure you should be driving? We’re trying to avoid killin’ anybody. Nedley waved her off as Wynonna spurred her horse further up the wagon chain.

“That poor woman,” Chrissy commented, peeking out from the cargo of the wagon. Chrissy was a few years younger than Nicole, the two always competing to see who could annoy the other more. “I haven’t gotten the chance to talk to her much. She stayed in Wynonna’s room for most of last week. Not that I blame her. I can’t imagine what she’s going through, losing her father in such a horrible way,”

“From what Wynonna says, it’s what he deserves,” Nicole commented, unaware that her eyes were still trailing Waverly.

“You believe that?” Chrissy asked, straightening the pleats of her skirt. Nicole mumbled to herself, finally looking away from Waverly and turning back to see Chrissy’s face.

“It don’t matter what I believe, girl still lost her father,” Chrissy nodded solemnly, tilting her head slightly as she watched the redhead’s eyes move back to the sisters.

“What do you know about her?” Chrissy asked, her voice nearly teasing as she observed Nicole. Nicole hummed in acknowledgment but didn’t reply, a small smile spread across Chrissy’s face, “Nicole,”

“What?” Nicole startled, jerking her head to look back at Chrissy.

“I asked if you knew anything about the woman,”

“What makes you think I would know?” Nicole asked incredulously, taking the reins Nedley handed her.

“I don’t know,” Chrissy shrugged, “You’re good friends with Wynonna, and you’re one of the ones who found her.”

“Leave ‘er alone, Chrissy,” Nedley gruffed, no malice in his voice and a fond smile on his face. Nicole sighed, gripping the reins tighter and ignoring the teasing smiles between Nedley and Chrissy.

“Well, I think I’m gonna befriend her when we get to this new camp. We weren’t as welcoming as we should’ve been when we were up in the mountains.” Chrissy finally said, reaching back for the book she had previously been reading and flipping it open. Nedley snickered to himself, pulling his duster coat tighter around his rounded stomach.

Nicole stopped the wagon and handed the reins back to Nedley before jumping off the wagon to help Chrissy climb over the side. Nedley followed suit, handing the reins off to a waiting Gus as she ordered the girls to start unpacking the wagons. Nicole moved towards the wagon that held her things, tugging on the large chest that held everything she owned. She grunted from the effort, the chest barely moving as she huffed. Wynonna stood to the side, eyeing her unreadably.

“Could you give me a hand?” Nicole sighed, raising an eyebrow at the oldest Earp. Wynonna rolled her eyes but climbed into the back of the wagon, pushing the chest as Nicole pulled. They moved the chest to the edge of the wagon, Nicole slotting her hand into the handle and her other hand cupping under the bottom to stabilize it. She hosted the chest out of the wagon, expecting Wynonna to be holding the other end, only for the chest to turn sharply as it fell off the wagon. Nicole’s arms twisted uncomfortably as the chest dived off the wagon, landing with a heavy thump, its sharp corner digging into the dirt.

“You were supposed to have the other end,” Nicole huffed, righting the chest, a pile of displaced dirt popping up as she did.

Wynonna rolled her eyes, hopping off the wagon, “Why would I do that? Thought you were an educated woman, Haught? Newton and all that shit?”

Nicole shook her head, motioning towards the end of the chest, “Just grab the other end and help me carry it to my tent,”

“Give me a second,” Wynonna groaned, pulling out the small metal canister which held her cigarettes. She twisted the top off, the sound of metal on metal, causing a prick in Nicole’s brow. Wynonna carefully looked over the hand-rolled cigarettes, her fingers brushing over a few of them as she chose before finally picking up the next one in the row. She placed the cigarette in her mouth and closed the container, pulling out a small matchbox to light the cigarette. As she flicked a single match over her pants and slowly lifted it to her cigarette Nicole considered strangling her but figured that would be more trouble than it was worth. But just barely.

Wynonna took a long drag of the cigarette, sighing out on the exhale as she grinned at Nicole. Nicole rolled her eyes, knowing for sure that Wynonna was only taking so long to annoy her. She had been around Wynonna long enough to know not to voice her displeasure, that would only encourage Wynonna. Instead, Nicole pulled out her own cigarette, lighting it quickly before sitting down atop the chest that still needed to be moved.

“Didn’t realize you were smoking pimp sticks now,” Wynonna sneered, snuffing out her cigarette. Nicole held the said cigarette in her hand, the smoothness of it still odd to her. Wynonna was, of course, referring to the fact the cigarette was store-bought, something Nicole nor the members of the gang usually had the money to buy.

“Got it from your daddy’s house,” Nicole shrugged, the topic of Wynonna’s dead father, not something Nicole shied away from. 

Wynonna nodded, staring at the cigarette for a moment, “He was a bastard, probably stole it,” She paused for a minute, chewing the inside of her cheek before continuing, “Come on, let’s get this thing moved,”

Nicole jumped up, hastily grabbing the handle as Wynonna began to lift the thing. They waddled to Nicole’s tent, a small cot under a canopy attached to a wagon. It was situated to the right of Doc’s tent, near the middle of camp. Wynonna huffed and dropped her end, Nicole straightening it out where she wanted it to be.

“Thanks,” Nicole grinned, throwing her hat onto the cot and changing out of her thick winter jacket.

“Yeah, yeah,” Wynonna waved her off, “Some of us are going into town, checking out the saloon,”

“Really a good idea for all of us to go out together?” Nicole asked as she pulled out a grey scout jacket from her trunk.

“It’s a ranching town if anything they’ll just think we’re the crew of a new rancher somewhere out in the Heartlands,” Wynonna shrugged.

Nicole hummed, repositioning her hat onto her head, “Ranching towns, full of shit and cowboys,”

Wynonna snorted, only to be disrupted by Doc, “Nicole,” He called, his feet stomping on the ground.

“His highness awaits,” Wynonna teased, shooting a wink at Doc as she pushed passed Nicole. Nicole walked into Doc’s tent, the large canopy tent scarcely decorated.

“There’s a train coming through in a few days,” Doc sighed, dragging his hand down his face. “Big passenger train, should be lots of money.” Nicole nodded, squinting as Doc pulled out a small leather-bound journal, scribbling something down before continuing, “I want you to head it. I would ask Dolls, but last time he headed a train robbery well, I don’t want to be busting anyone out of jail this time.” Doc was referring to the last train robbery the gang had pulled. Jeremy, the nervous man that he was, had been captured by the law and would have swung if it wasn’t for some string-pulling by Doc. Of course, as Nicole remembers it, it was Doc who headed that robbery, not Dolls.

“How big of a train? How many people do I need to round up?”

“Your call,” Doc shrugged, “It’s a pretty large train, you’d probably only get to half of it no matter the crew you had,”

“Alright,” Nicole nodded, “I’ll ask around town, see if anyone knows anything about the train,”

“Just remember, be discreet,”

“Of course,”

* * *

Nicole wondered how she always got into these situations. She could hear Wynonna shouting towards her left as she felt the ground beneath her feet disappear. It took her a moment to realize that the reason she couldn't feel the ground anymore was because of the grip the man had on her shirt collar. He threw her against one of the unstable saloon tables, the worn wood collapsing from the force of her body coming into contact with it. Her opponent stood over her, the tendons that popped from his neck thick like a wagon yoke. Nicole scrambled back, her feet slipping on the split wood preventing her from standing. Wynonna let out a war scream and launched herself from the bar, wrapping her legs and arms around the man’s upper body and delivering as many blows as she could. Nicole’s side smarted as she finally stood, steadying herself against a structural support beam before she moved to help Wynonna.

The man, Samuel, based on the shouts that erupted from the now gathered crowd, finally managed to sling Wynonna off, her body flying through the air and smacking the wall with a loud bang. Wynonna had managed to rip part of his shirt sleeve, the sleeve swaying uselessly as he stumbled away from Wynonna’s limp body. He turned on his heel back towards Nicole, his nostrils flaring similar to a bear’s as he made his way towards her. Nicole dodged one hit, landing a blow to the man’s gut before he knocked her off her feet again. Nicole could feel him grabbing her suspenders and his meaty fingers sliding under the collar of her shirt as he hoisted her off the ground. He grunted loudly, throwing her through the window, the sound of glass breaking ringing in her ears as she landed with a thud and mud filled her mouth. Nicole scrambled to get up, the broken glass grinding into her knees and hands and crunching under the weight of her body.

Samuel meandered his way down the saloon stairs, his dark black hair sticking up due to Wynonna’s valiant attempts at helping Nicole. His chest was still heaving and his boots smacked against the wooden stairs loud enough to create an echo. Nicole groaned, her shoulders slumping as he continued to move towards her. He grunted with effort as Nicole tried her best to dodge him, by now a sizable crowd had gathered, gawking at a lean woman in men’s clothes fighting a grizzly of a man. His fist connected with Nicole’s cheek, a hidden ring slicing the skin there. Nicole gritted her teeth, the taste of blood filling her mouth as she looked for a way out. The man was much larger than her and at least six inches taller than her. The man swung again, Nicole dodging it and aiming up for his nose. A nasty crunch filled Nicole’s ears as blood began to pour from the man’s nose. He stumbled back, blood trickling from the gaps in his fingers as he tried to hold his nose. Nicole tackled the man while he was distracted, hovering over him and repeatedly punching him in the face. The man twitched underneath her, his eyes rolling back into her head for a minute. Nicole pulled back immediately, her breath coming out ragged as she stumbled to her feet and walked away. A few men rushed to the down man in the road, checking him over. Nicole figured bar fights were a regular occurrence in Valentine.

“Hell yeah, Haught,” Wynonna called, limping towards her from the saloon and slapping her on the back.

“Hopefully, I didn’t kill him,” Nicole sighed, watching as it took a few men to get Samuel to his feet.

“C’mon, we need to get outta here before the law shows up,” Nicole waved Wynonna off, flicking mud off her fingers as she walked back towards the saloon.

The saloon owner glared at her, his wrinkles more prominent behind the spectacles he wore, “You just get out of here, you’ve already caused enough damn trouble!” Nicole reached into her satchel, pulling out twenty dollars and setting it on the counter.

“I’m sorry about the mess,” She paused, shifting her eyes between the floor and the bartender, “I hope this can cover some of the damage,” The elderly bartender looked at the money, his brow furrowed as his hands grazed over the cash. He looked over his glasses at Nicole then, squinting slightly. Nicole shifted under his gaze, trying not to drip too much mud onto the wooden floor.

“Sorry again,” Nicole apologized, moving to leave the saloon, the heavy door scraping against the dusty floor.

Wynonna was waiting outside; both of their horses hitched to the saloon’s hitching posts. Nicole finally noticed the blood running down Wynonna’s arm.

“You okay?” She pointed to Wynonna’s bloody fingers.

“Yeah, skinned up my fucking forearm,” Wynonna cursed, rolling up the sticky shirt sleeve to show the injury.

Nicole nodded, mounting her horse and waiting for Wynonna to do the same. They rode out of town together before splitting up, Wynonna going back to camp and Nicole following the road past the camp towards the river. She was caked in mud and frankly didn’t want to deal with the backlash that would happen when Doc found out she and Wynonna had been involved in a barroom fight. She found a mostly secluded spot on the edge of the river, with a thick tree line and a small hill hiding her from the road. Nicole dismounted her horse and waded out into the water. The water was cold, but nothing like the freezing ice water she had experienced up in the mountains. Nicole dunked her hat and then her head underwater, breaking the surface with a gasp from the cold. She combed her hand through her hair, pushing the red locks back before covering them with the still wet hat. She waded back out of the water, her horse snorting as she patted his thick neck.

“Why don’t we stay out a lil’ longer?” She spoke softly to the horse, running a hand down his mane.

Nicole set up a small camp for the night, a small fire as to not give away her spot to people like her looking for cash. Her horse grazed close by, the soft sounds of him ripping grass from the earth and his steady breathing comforting Nicole like nothing else seemed to do. She had been to a lot of places, but Nicole always felt the most at home when she was alone.

* * *

Nicole rode into the main camp a few days later, a fresh deer on the back of her horse and a few more dollars in her pockets. After a few days of peace, the hustle and bustle of camp made Nicole jittery, like she had drunk too much coffee. Dolls whistled when he spotted the large buck on the back of her horse, moving to help her remove the deer.

“This your peace offering for all the trouble you caused in town?” Dolls grinned, grunting slightly as he helped lower the deer onto the ground.

Nicole sighed, “Does everyone know about that?”

“Doc sure does, he’s been a bit testy. Doesn’t help that Wynonna refuses to share his tent,” Dolls pointed to the back legs of the deer, motioning for Nicole to grab the antlers of the deer.

“Well, it wasn’t my fault. The guy started it,” Dolls hummed, lifting the back end of the deer as Nicole lifted the front end. The two waddled through camp towards the chuck wagon with the deer swinging between them.

“Shorty,” Nicole called, helping Dolls hang the deer by its hocks to be dressed. Shorty rounded the corner, his brows furrowed.

“Damn girl, haven’t seen you in near a week, and then you bring me that big ass thing,” Shorty was rarely angry, and Nicole figured his sour mood had something to do with Doc damning her to hell and back while she was away. Shorty sighed, finally fully looking at the deer, “But it’s appreciated,” He finally said, “We needed the meat,”

“You were being modest when I asked if everyone knew,” Nicole mumbled as she and Dolls moved away from the chuck wagon.

“Eh, don’t worry about it. Now that you’re back, everything will calm down. Doc just likes to raise hell when we aren’t all together,” Nicole nodded, saying goodbye to Dolls and making her way back to her tent. She had so far avoided Doc, and she wanted to keep it that way until she could change into a fresh set of clothes at least.

Nicole changed into a blue and white striped everyday shirt along with a similar pair of suspenders and her usual grey scout jacket. She sat on the cot for a minute, the curtains still drawn in her tent. She glanced at the faded picture of her mother. The picture had been taken right before her mother had married her father, her dark hair and pale skin still standing out against the grainy background. Nicole finally pushed herself up from the cot and pulled back the curtains of her tent.

“What in the hell were you thinking?” Doc seethed, spit flying from his lips.

“Oh, you’d do the same shit, don’t act like you’re any different from me, Doc,” Nicole argued, watching as the words soaked into Doc’s brain. He ran a hand down his face. He had been yelling at Nicole for the better part of fifteen minutes. He shook his head and twisted his lips as if he were thinking.

“We are on the run, Nicole. We’re wanted men,” He nearly growled, pausing and finally turning to face her, “You’re right though, I would have down the same thing,” He paused again, sitting on his own cot, “We need supplies and Bobo has a lead on a stagecoach coming through. See if you can redeem yourself after causing such a fuss,”

Nicole’s jaw tightened, but she nodded nevertheless, “What do we need from town?”

“Gus has a list,” He waved her off, huffing as he left the tent and stormed across camp.

Nicole placed her hat back onto her head, trying not to stomp as she left Doc’s tent and looked for Gus. She was cleaning one of the camp’s tables; her sleeves rolled up despite the chill in the morning air.

“Mrs. McCready,” Nicole called, the woman turning quickly on her feet.

“Well, if it ain’t the gang’s brawler,” Nicole ducked her head, her eyes downcast expecting a lecturing from Gus too. “Don’t worry about it,” Gus surprised her, patting Nicole’s arm, “Wynonna told me about what happened, you were just protecting the both of you,” Nicole nodded, a lump unexpectedly rising in her throat.

Nicole cleared her throat, “Doc said we needed supplies? Said you had a list?”

Gus dug into one of her skirt pockets, pulling out a small wad of cash and a torn sheet of paper, the list of supplies written out in neat script, “Get what you can, don’t know what a ranching town’s store has to offer,”

Nicole nodded, pocketing the cash and the list and giving Gus a tight-lipped smile as she backed away from her and towards the wagon. She got Dolls to help her hitch up the horses to the wagon, the large Belgian Draft horses, gentle giants, were led quickly to their respected positions. Wynonna spotted them hitching up the horses, her brow quirking in suspicion. She swaggered to them, her hat terribly crooked.

“Y’all going somewhere?” She asked, leaning against the wagon.

Dolls rolled his eyes, “Nicole’s going to pick up supplies, I’m just helping,” Wynonna’s eyebrows raised nearly to her hairline.

“Well, you done now?” Wynonna asked, pointing to the ready to go wagon. Dolls sighed, placing his hand on his hips and observing the wagon before nodding and looking back to Wynonna. “Then leave,” Wynonna scoffed, causing Dolls to roll his eyes but leave nonetheless. Wynonna turned back to Nicole, a sly grin on her face.

“No,” Nicole interrupted before Wynonna could say anything.

“You don’t even know what I was gonna ask,” Wynonna argued.

“And that’s precisely what I should have done when you insulted that big bastard at the saloon, I should have just said no and walked away,”

Wynonna scoffed, “I just need a favor,”

“No,”

“It’s about my sister,” Wynonna whispered, the mention of Wynonna’s little sister annoyingly gaining Nicole’s attention.

Nicole threw her head back towards the sky, letting out a sigh as she asked, “What?”

“Can you take her into town? She needs clothes and shoes and some other stuff. She’s been borrowing some clothes from Rosita, but she needs some of her own,”

Nicole looked over at Waverly, lifting her skirt up as she walked through camp, those few inches in height between her and Rosita made evident by the skirt’s length.

“Why can’t you do it?” Nicole argued, glancing between Wynonna and Waverly.

Wynonna scoffed, a grin on her face, “You really think they’re gonna let me take a wagon after last time,” Nicole thought about the last time Wynonna went to get supplies. They were camped out in a small town out west, and Wynonna had gotten into two separate gunfights on the way back to camp. Eventually leading the rival gang to their camp and forcing them to flee the area.

“Why can’t you take Peacemaker?” Nicole asked again, pointing to the silver grullo mustang.

Wynonna kicked a rock from under her boot, shaking her head as she seemed to be gathering her thoughts, “I don’t want to overwork him?” Nicole glared at her, moving to get around Wynonna, “Okay, okay, I might have got caught up with the general store owner,”

“Wynonna,” Nicole sighed, leaning against the wagon.

“I didn’t know the bastard was married,”

“Wynonna!” 

“We’re literal criminals, _and_ I told you, I didn’t know he was married,” She paused for a moment, “C’mon, Haught, you’re the only one I can trust with my sister,”

Nicole sighed again, looking back over to Waverly and nodding, “Alright,”

Wynonna called Waverly over, her frantic hand motions causing the younger woman to furrow her brows. Pleasantries were exchanged before Wynonna shoved a few bills into Waverly’s hands and helped her onto the wagon, “Alright, Haught, you got precious cargo now so try n’ stay out of trouble,”

“Yeah, yeah, if your sister is anything like you, I’m not the one ya ought to be worried about,” Nicole grumbled, pulling herself into the driver’s side of the wagon.

“I’m nothing like Wynona, don’t worry,” Waverly reassured, placing a gentle hand on Nicole’s forearm. Nicole stared at it for a moment, jerking slightly from the unexpected contact.

“Good to know,” She finally managed to stay, tipping her hat to Wynonna as she slapped the reins against the horses’ backsides.

The wagon lugged out of the small thicket of trees hiding their camp, and Nicole turned the horses towards town, the wagon groaning as the wood pulled in the opposite direction. Nicole searched for something to say, but couldn’t find anything to say to the girl she had pulled out of a shoot-out not two weeks ago. Waverly seemed content however, her head on a swivel as she looked at the land around them. Nicole didn’t blame her; the Heartlands were beautiful and completely different from the little homestead Waverly had called home. The horses moved slowly, their large hooves making a satisfying sound as they hit the compact dirt of the path.

“It’s beautiful country out here,” Waverly commented, turning back to Nicole, “Have you been through this area?”

“No, ma’am,” Nicole shook her head, “Well, maybe a couple of weeks when I was a kid, but I don’t remember anything about it,”

Waverly nodded, silence falling over the two once again. The number of horses and wagons on the path picked up as they got closer to town, men tipping their hats towards them and wagons greeting them as they passed. Nicole didn’t trust people and would only sometimes greet them back, Waverly, however, greeted everyone they passed, a permeant smile on her face. Nicole slowed the horses even more so as they entered town, taking a sharp right and then left to go down main street. People seemed to pick up their heads as the wagon made its way down the street, season regulars taking in the newcomers like hawk’s watching their prey. Nicole hid herself the best she could, popping the collar of her jacket to cover the sides of her face and pulling her hat down low. She didn’t want to risk someone recognizing her.

Nicole pulled the wagon beside the general store, pushing the break down firmly so the horses wouldn’t move around too much. She got down from the wagon, rushing over to help Waverly down as well.

“Thank you,” Waverly smiled, taking the offered hand and lifting her skirt up so she wouldn’t trip. Waverly continued to hold her skirt as she walked to the general store, Nicole hot on her heels. The general store was spacy, a small stand of food goods in the center with a walkway all around it. Shelves on the walls were stocked with food and supplies that any ranch or ranch hand might need. Nicole made her way over to the store owner, the counter in the back-left corner of the store with fresh meats and cheeses on the shelves behind him. He was a middle-aged man, his hair slicked back under a small derby hat and a dark beard covering most of his face.

“How may I help you?” He asked, looking over Nicole with a cursory glance. Nicole pulled out the torn paper from her shirt pocket, placing it on the counter in the space between her and the store owner.

“Need supplies. The wagon’s out back,” Nicole shoved her hands in her pockets, not wanting to draw any attention to herself as it was.

“You’re the woman that gave an ass whooping to Samuel last week, weren’t ya?” Nicole glanced over to Waverly, she was entranced with something or the other on the shelf farthest from the counter. “Sorry,” The man said, seeing where Nicole was looking, “I reckon I should remember my manners,” He grinned at Nicole, putting her at ease somehow.

“You’re right; that was me. Hope you aren’t a friend of his,”

“Far from it,” The store-owner chuckled, his voice dropping lower, “Big bastard would come in here and steal whiskey, cigarettes, bread, whatever he could fit in his pockets. I would have stopped him, called the law on him a few times. I think the sheriff is scared of him, honestly. God knows I’d be,” The man picked up the list, scanning it quickly before looking back to Nicole, “I’ll get you your things,”

“Thank you,” Nicole called, watching as the man stuck his head out the backdoor, motioning for one of his stock boys to help him. Nicole moved over to Waverly, who had taken to picking up different books from the small pile in the corner. She would pick up one and then another, tracing her fingers over the titles on the spines. Nicole recognized some of them, _The Scarlett Letter, Moby Dick,_ along with a few dime novels.

Waverly gasped as she reached for another book, a thick, brown book with gold lettering on the side. Nicole peered over her shoulder, squinting as she tried to see what book had caused such a reaction.

“ _Walden?_ ” Nicole asked, the words finally clearing.

“Have you read it?” Waverly asked, turning quickly to face Nicole.

“No, ain’t ever heard of it,” Nicole shrugged, taking a step back when she realized how close she and Waverly were.

“Well, I suppose it is old. Mama always read it to me. When I was young,” Waverly clutched it to her chest for a minute, before setting it back down, “You have a nice chat with the store owner?”

Nicole ducked her head despite herself. There was no way that Waverly didn’t know about the saloon brawl, but it still embarrassed Nicole that Waverly might already have an image in her head of Nicole. Before Nicole could reply however, the store owner interrupted them.

“Wagon’s all loaded up. You ladies need anything else?”

“Can I check your catalog?” Waverly asked, moving towards the counter, “I’m in terrible need of some new clothes,” The store owner looked her over for several seconds, his eyes moving slower than Nicole liked.

“Well, that skirt looks pretty shiny to me,” He grinned down at Waverly, the way his voice deepened, causing the hairs on the back of Nicole’s neck to raise. Waverly didn’t seem to notice his behavior or perhaps was ignoring it altogether. He continued to stare as Waverly flipped through the catalog, causing Nicole to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from saying something.

“Do you have a fitting room?” Waverly asked, meeting the man’s beady eyes. The man began to grin, his eyebrows raising in a way that made Nicole nervous. She quickly darted to Waverly’s side, straightening her spine to make her eye level with the man behind the counter. He seemed startled by her presence, and the scowl on her face as his mouth gaped like a caught fish.

“Yes, ma’am,” he finally got out, taking the slip Waverly had filled out and handing it to one of the stock boys who rushed to get the garments she had requested. Nicole stared down the man, watching as he pointed towards the fitting room and explained how it would take a few seconds for them to gather the clothes. Waverly seemed content, browsing the shelves once again as Nicole stood guard at the counter, the man keeping his eyes downcast.

The boy finally returned, handing Waverly several sets of folded clothes and one set of boots. Waverly thanked him, taking a nickel out of her skirt pocket and placing it into the boy’s hand. Nicole figured the boy wasn’t any older than fourteen, and the blush that covered his cheeks made Nicole chuckle as Waverly made her way into the fitting room. Waverly didn’t take long and came out with a simple blue and white striped blouse and a blue skirt. Her new boots clunked against the wood floor as she made her way to the counter to pay, passing off Rosita’s old clothes for Nicole to hold.

She placed the clothes on the counter, telling the store owner the style of clothes she was wearing to get the correct price. He rung her up, the total being $89. Waverly stared at the money in her hands, thirty-nine dollars short.

“Afraid you’re short, darling,” The man drawled, the wicked grin back on his face. Nicole huffed, moving the clothes to her left hand as she reached into her satchel. She slapped the needed money onto the counter, glowering at the man.

“Where should I send the bill for the supplies?” The store owner asked a scowl of his own on his face. Nicole grabbed the wad of cash Gus had given her, throwing it on the counter as well.

“Keep the change,” She scowled at him, adjusting the clothes in her hand as she motioned for Waverly to lead the way to the wagon. Nicole gently placed the clothes between two cartons of supplies, moving to pull herself into the wagon.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Waverly’s voice finally cut the silence, the reins clinking together as Nicole refrained from whipping them as her anger wanted her too; the horses didn’t deserve that. Waverly shifted on the seat, her new boots scraping against the wood unpleasantly, “I’ll pay you back, once I get some money,”

Nicole waved her off, her body slowly relaxing as they got further away from the store, “Don’t worry about,”

“No, I won’t! I don’t want to be some charity case for y’all. I can make my own money,”

“It ain’t charity if it was your money to begin with,” Nicole sighed. Waverly's eyebrows furrowed at the confession, her hand's fidgeting in her lap "I took some money from your pa's house, figured I might as well pay you back," Nicole admitted quietly.

Waverly leaned back on the bench, folding her hands one way and then the other as the wagon bumped along the path. She finally nodded, “I see,” She whispered, looking out at the landscape. “Thank you,” Waverly whispered, so softly that Nicole wasn’t sure she heard her at all. Nicole didn’t say anything, just starred at the back of Waverly’s head for a minute before urging the horses right, back up to camp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, cowboys really did call store-bought cigarettes "pimp sticks" because they were so expensive. For that very reason, cowboys more often bought plugs and loose leaf chewing tobacco as well as papers to roll their own cigarettes.


	3. Fortunes and Stagecoaches

It wasn’t until a few days later that Nicole realized she had given most of her money away like some love-sick kid. It took her a little bit longer to realize the ramifications of that. It would have been different, had it been one of the girls. If it had been Kate or Eliza or even Rosita, but it wasn’t. She had given most of her money away for Waverly Earp, a stray by all accounts. Not to mention she had given that slimy store owner the entire wad of cash Gus had given her. What had gotten into her? From then on, Nicole vowed to avoid Waverly as best she could while in camp. She didn’t need any more distractions. Besides, Waverly had Wynonna to look after her. So, even if avoiding Waverly meant waking up earlier than usual, Nicole would do it.

The camp always woke slowly. Silhouettes moving slowly inside the tents, the curtains drawn as the residents got ready for the day. Shorty and Curtis were always the first awake, the sound of them chopping vegetables and the coffee perking, usually waking Nicole a few minutes later. They both welcomed Nicole to the early bird club they had going, chattering away as they offered her coffee and bits of food. Nicole enjoyed the quiet mornings and the conversations that flowed between the three of them, often retellings of Shorty’s time in the Navy or Curtis’s ranching years. This morning would not be as peaceful, it seemed.

“Haught,” Bobo’s gravel-like voice called, his heavy footfalls reverberating throughout the empty camp.

“What do you want, Bobo?” Nicole sighed, excusing herself from the conversation she and Curtis were having.

“You gonna ride with me? Doc said that you were trying to redeem yourself after you caused such a fuss in town,”

Nicole ignored his attempts at getting under her skin and instead observed him. Bobo was the flamboyant type. If he had any money, people would’ve called him eccentric. His beard was kept in a sharp point, the white patch on his left cheek an intriguing eyesore. He kept his hair slicked back and the lines even. Rings glinted from his fingers as he straightened that insufferable fur coat. It wasn’t even cold in this part of New Hanover. “I’ll help you with the coach,” Nicole finally said.

“Hmm,” Bobo growled, rolling his shoulders as he stood up straighter, “Coach comes through every afternoon,” Nicole continued to stare at him, sensing it made him uncomfortable. “I’ll be camped out a little north of a town called Strawberry. Try to keep your head on straight this time. We’re trying to be discreet,” Bobo rolled his shoulders again, snapping his teeth at Nicole before turning away with a flourish.

“Such a strange man. I wonder why Doc ever let him in,” Chrissy’s voice broke through, startling Nicole.

“Dammit, Chrissy, haven’t I told you to stop listening to other people’s conversations,” Nicole sighed, catching her breath and staring wide-eyed at Chrissy.

“Well, it’s a good thing I do, or I wouldn’t know that apparently, you’ve got money to spare,” 

“What are you talking about?”

Chrissy sighed loudly, glancing around them before leaning close to Nicole’s face, “I overheard Wynonna tell Dolls that you gave money to the saloon owner?”

“I damaged his property, it was the right thing to do,” Nicole shrugged.

“Then Waverly told me that you paid for her clothes,”

“You and Waverly friends now?” Nicole huffed, before continuing, “She was short a few dollars, I didn’t buy her anything,” Nicole could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks and hoped that Chrissy wouldn’t comment on it. Last thing she needed was for Chrissy to make _assumptions_.

“Nicole, you can’t be wasting money like that. If Doc hears about it,”

“So, Doc won’t hear about it!” Nicole hissed, glancing back at Doc’s still closed tent. The camp was just starting to wake, more people bustling around to hear their conversation.

“Where’d you even get all that money?”

“Maybe I was saving it to buy a whore,”

Chrissy rolled her eyes, “Nearly sixty dollars for a whore? You might as well have bought a wife,” She paused for a minute, “I’m not reprimanding you. I understand, I mean I don’t _understand_ , but Waverly’s a pretty girl and,”

“Chrissy,” Nicole warned.

“I’m just saying! I know why you felt inclined to help her out,”   
“You don’t know shit,” Nicole huffed, pushing herself away from the table. She could hear Chrissy calling for her, but refused to turn back. Instead, she mounted her horse and headed for the nearest train station.

* * *

Nicole stared at the newly written train schedule as inconspicuously as she could. Flatneck Station was a rural train station, located right on the border between New Hanover and West Elizabeth. Their big chalkboard schedule was changed every two hours, whereas most stations did it every hour. Nicole had set up camp a few miles from the station, coming back and checking the schedule as many times she felt wouldn’t give her away. 

She didn’t want to admit to anyone, including herself, how worried she was about this train robbery. She had robbed dozens of trains in her life, headed several of the robberies too, but this one was different. They had always needed money, sure, but this was the first time they actually _needed_ money. Nicole shook her head, thinking of all the money they left in Blackwater, gone probably forever because of Doc’s caution. Or better yet, Doc’s paranoia.

Nicole stepped onto the loading dock of the station, walking into the lobby to see if she could see the new train schedule. The short man behind the desk smiled, his grey and blue uniform neat, and his beard carefully trimmed. Nicole had noticed before that the station clerks had to keep up a particular look. Most of them in strict uniform and combed hair. Even this far out into the woods, it seemed the train company hired men that were willing to follow a stringent dress code.

“Back again, mind if I ask what it is yer looking for?” The man asked, walking over to the barred window.

“Uh, there’s supposed to be a passenger train coming down through the Grizzlies. I was, uh, I was wondering when it was coming through exactly.” The man furrowed his brows at her, his head tilted a slightly. “My mother’s coming down,” Nicole rushed to explain, “Widowed, unfortunately, much too early. She wasn’t able to send me a letter detailing her trip,” Nicole internally grimaced as the lie left her lips. She had never quite picked up the art of lying to or conning folk. She should have, she had watched the girls do it over a hundred times. They lied about being lost, widowed, orphaned, God the gang would be useless without those girls. The girls had lied their way, and in turn, the gang’s way into banks, coaches, and balls. All Nicole was good for was shooting a gun and looking scary when needed, and this was most certainly not a time for either of those. She held her breath as the station clerk stared at her. It must have only been for a few seconds, but it felt like years.

“Sorry to hear that,” The clerk frowned, “I’ve got the schedule written down here if you’d want to take a look, just don’t tell nobody,”

Nicole nodded enthusiastically, watching as the man lifted some papers and moved a small notebook out of the way to reach an even smaller pamphlet. Nicole took the sheet of paper carefully, noting how tiny the script was. She quickly found the list of passenger trains documented for the next two weeks. There were twelve in total with only one coming down from the Grizzles and going through the Valentine station. It was coming through in three days, on the twentieth. Nicole sighed in relief. She could cry she was so happy. It was going to work; her plan was going to work.

She handed the man back the pamphlet, thanking him profusely as she made her way out the door. There were still a lot of details to plan and a crew to assemble, but she had more information than she had had in weeks. She mounted her horse, riding hard back to Valentine to discuss her plans with Dolls.

Dolls and Wynonna were sat at a table in the saloon, three bottles of beer stacked on the table courtesy of Wynonna. Nicole ducked her head as she passed the saloon owner, swearing to herself that she wouldn’t cause another brawl at the same time Wynonna spotted her.

“Haught,” Wynonna called, her voice unsurprisingly steady for an Earp who just down three beers, “Buy us another round?”

“No,” Nicole sighed, sitting down at the table, “I need to talk to both of you,”

“No,” Wynonna sneered, trying to push Nicole’s chair over with her foot.

“Stop it,” Nicole swatted at Wynonna’s foot, Wynonna’s boot hitting the ground with a loud thud, “I’ve got information on that train I was telling you about,” She whispered, leaning in close to the other two at the table.

Wynonna scoffed and leaned back in her chair, “So what, Haught, it’s coming through on the twentieth,”

Nicole’s head swiveled to meet Wynonna’s bored expression. Dolls kept looking between the two of them, Nicole could see him shrinking into himself as she continued to stare at Wynonna. She wasn’t gonna start another bar brawl. She wasn’t gonna start another bar brawl.

“You knew when it was coming through?” Nicole asked, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists.

“Yeah,” Wynonna shrugged, “Store owner spilled the beans when I was asking around town a few weeks ago,”

“Was this before or after his pants were at his ankles?” Nicole quipped, feeling anger start to pound behind her eyes.

“Okay, don’t be mad at me. It’s not my fault it took you nearly two weeks to find out any information,”

“Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“I didn’t know you needed to know,”

“Wynonna what the-” Nicole was cut off as Dolls jumped in, clearing his throat loudly.

“Both of you, keep quiet,” He looked around the saloon, the patrons sending curious stares their way. Wynonna rolled her eyes, but stopped, choosing instead to stare down the patrons who couldn’t mind their business. “Wynonna, you should have told Nicole about the train,” He continued, stopping Wynonna when she opened her mouth, “Like I said, you should have told her. That can’t be the only thing you have on the train, though, Nicole. What else were you going to tell us?”

They both turned back to face Nicole, all of Wynonna’s chair legs on the ground. Nicole sighed, shaking her head before speaking, “The train is coming down from Annesburg through Scarlett Meadows, and then it’s gonna stop at Valentine before continuing on towards Ambarino. The best chance of hitting it good would be to jump on while it’s going through Scarlett Meadows,”

“Why?” Dolls asked, leaning both forearms on the table.

“It’s the clearest spot. I’ve looked over the train route maps fifty times at least; it’s the straightest and clearest spot on the tracks,”

“Clarity isn’t always the best,” Dolls argued, scratching at the stubble on his chin.

“Nor is straightness,” Wynonna quipped.

“If we can get the train to stop, that’s the key. The moment the train comes around the curve, we’re gonna have to ride hard to get on board. And shoot fast to get to the engine car,”

“More chances of someone seeing us if we’re out in the open like that,” Dolls sighed.

“More chances for us to see the law coming if we’re out in the open like that,” Nicole grinned, noticing how Dolls’ shoulders slumped in defeat.

“We could always make the train stop without boarding,” Wynonna offered, crossing her arms over her chest.

“How exactly do you plan on doing that?” Nicole asked, squinting at Wynonna. Wynonna shrugged, leaning her chair back on two legs staring between the two of them. “Alright,” Nicole placed her hands on the table, “Then I need you two to start thinking about it,” 

“You want our help?” Wynonna asked, a small grin on her face.

Nicole shrugged, “You might be stubborn as a damn mule, and I ain’t quite forgiven you not telling me about the train,”

Wynonna cleared her throat loudly, waving her hand for Nicole to hurry up and get to the point.

“But,” Nicole sighed, “You’re one of the best shots, and Dolls can keep you under control,”

Wynonna scoffed.

“Usually,” Nicole relented, grinning at the small smile on Dolls’s face. “We still need a few men, though. I was thinking Robin,”

“Robin,” Wynonna rolled her eyes, “Do you want this to be like the last one? No way, we aren’t taking Robin,”

“It wasn’t Jeremy’s fault he got caught. Besides, Robin is a good shot and sensible,”

“I agree with Nicole,” Dolls shrugged, “Robin is better than anyone else in camp willing to go,” Wynonna crossed her arms, mumbling to herself, and Nicole knew that meant Wynonna was admitting defeat.

“Okay, I’ll check in on y’all later. Still got a lot of planning to do,” Nicole grinned, pushing herself up from the table. They exchanged their goodbyes as Nicole made her way out of the saloon. They were gonna rob that train, and they were gonna make it a good hit.

* * *

Turns out that avoiding Waverly Earp while staying in camp was a lot harder than Nicole expected. It wasn’t like Nicole kept running into her; it was just daily contact like seeing Waverly as she poured her coffee by chuckwagon fire, or passing her as Nicole went to get her clean laundry. Nicole reckoned that a lot of those encounters were not so much encounters and more likely just Nicole noticing Waverly’s presence more. In fact, for the most part, Waverly was always busy doing chores. Nicole briefly wondered how Wynonna and Waverly were related seeing as Nicole had never seen Wynonna do a single chore in her life, but Waverly seemed to constantly be doing them. She’d do the camp’s laundry, chop vegetables, feed the chickens, clean the tables, and refill the water basins. She was never not busy, and she seemed to like it that way. The other girls loved it too, Waverly’s work kept Gus off their backs, and they seemed to enjoy talking to her.

They also enjoyed talking Nicole’s ear off about the woman. Nicole figured that Chrissy hadn’t been shy about sharing the fact that Nicole had thrown in a few dollars to help Waverly out at the store. The girls might have been great at lying and conning people, but they were piss poor at hiding the inner romantics inside of them all. It didn’t anger Nicole all that much, none of them meant any ill-will about it. Hell, Nicole had spent a few nights with most of the girls. Prudence wasn’t an option for girls without husbands, nor was piousness, and most of them weren’t married for reasons. Still, there would always be people in camp who stared when Kate or Eliza stumbled out of Nicole’s tent in the morning. There would always be stares, but fights were few and far between amongst gang members. It was one of the unwritten rules inside the camp, there were disagreements sure, but they were all there for the same reason: they didn’t fit in with normal society.

Still, Nicole wasn’t sure she liked the girls talking about her nonexistent feelings for Waverly while they did her laundry. She hadn’t gotten a chance to talk about it with any of them because Waverly seemed to always be lingering when she spoke to one of them. Nicole couldn’t blame Waverly. After all, if Nicole had been dumped into a camp of outlaws and degenerates, she would probably have stuck close to the womenfolk too. Then again, if Nicole had been dumped into a camp of outlaws and degenerates, she would have fit right in with them, toasting to robberies and girls whose names they couldn’t remember.

Luckily, Nicole finally did catch up with one of the girls while she was alone. It was early morning, the camp still groggy and waking up, while Kate was alone at one of the tables. Nicole glanced around for Waverly, a habit she had annoyingly picked up in the last few days before approaching Kate. Kate was older than Nicole by a couple of years. Doc had found her in a dusty saloon out west, immediately captivated by the woman the townsfolk called cursed. Of course, she weren’t curse, just a black woman telling fortunes and a bunch of religious and secession favoring townsfolk. Doc had never been a very religious man and he’d vowed as a child to never follow in his father’s footsteps. So, he paid for his cards to be read, and the next week she was packing her things into one of their wagons. Even when their relationship fizzled and Wynonna Earp came of age, Kate stayed. She stayed because really where else would she go?

“Morning, Kate,” Nicole grinned, sitting down across from her.

“Hmm, want another free reading, Red?” Kate smirked, looking up from under her eyelashes.

“No, ma’am,” Nicole smiled, shaking her head, “I wanted to ask you why all you girls insist on telling me everything there is to know about that Earp girl,” Nicole weren’t sure why she couldn’t say Waverly’s name. Something about saying it out loud, alone to Kate, seemed too daunting.

“You can call her by her name,” Kate whispered good-naturedly, obviously picking up on Nicole’s nervousness. “We haven’t been telling you anything you don’t already know,”

Nicole liked the way Kate spoke, educated and dignified. She knew Kate came from across seas, some rich family in Hungry, and she knew the woman had probably had the most education out of all of them. Kate’s accent had faded since she first joined them, but she continued to pronounce all of her words instead of slurring them together like many of the gang members did.

“Well, you haven’t been quiet bout her neither,”

“Can you blame us? She’s a hard worker, Nicole. She’s smart, and she’s friendly, and her life’s been uprooted from underneath her. Anytime we talk about her in front of you is just because we’re excited to have her, we wish it was under better circumstances, but still excited,”

Nicole looked over to where Waverly was chatting with Rosita under the laundry tent, her knees bent as she sat on her legs, scrubbing muck from someone’s pants.

“I think the only reason you’re bothered by it is because you want Miss Waverly all to yourself,” Kate added, a small knowing smile on her face.

“You read that in your cards?” Nicole asked teasingly. It was easier to ignore all these implications than to face them while Kate was staring at her.

“No, darling,” Kate hummed, “I don’t need the cards to tell me when it’s written so plainly on your face,”

Nicole huffed, “I’m getting mighty tired of all you girls in my business,”

“That’s the price you have to pay for laundry and bed warmers,”

“Just,” Nicole sighed, “Just don’t start making assumptions around Waverly. Please,”

“Of course,”

Nicole nodded, pushing herself up from the table, the untold truth still lingering between the two of them as Nicole tipped her hat and darted towards her tent. Nicole chose not to think about what Kate had said, the truth being written on her face. It wasn’t true, end of discussion. The girls were just bored. Ever since Waverly came along they had more free time to sit and dream up grand stories. Nicole had fancied plenty of women in her day, only a few brave enough to pursue anything further than saloon lodging and hotels. Waverly Earp would be no different. She wasn’t an Eliza or Rosita or even a Kate. She didn’t have to stay with them, not really. She could go and be a maid if she wished to stay independent, or she could marry a doting rich feller and pop out as many babies she wished, building a perfect little home. It didn’t matter to Nicole. The gang mattered to Nicole. Loyalty mattered to Nicole. Homes weren’t meant for people like her. Homes were meant for people like Waverly Earp. That’s just how it was. It didn’t matter. After all, Nicole always preferred to wander, and that’s how it was meant to be.

* * *

Strawberry was a few hours ride from Valentine, the scenery changing the higher she went in elevation. It was obviously a logging town, intricate wood-work on all the buildings, and a stream that broke off from one of the big rivers running right through town. The sound of a water-powered lumber mill droned on in the background as Nicole rode over one of the two bridges in the town, her horse’s hooves making a hollow sound as they crossed. Nicole decided she liked Strawberry. Liked it better than Valentine with all its mud and drunken cowboys. Still, being back in West Elizabeth, even that far north, made Nicole nervous. She’d be an idiot to go tour the town like she so wanted to do.

Instead, she passed through the town as fast as she could without raising suspicions. The townsfolk didn’t seem to notice her too much, mostly just watching as she passed. Most of them loggers, Nicole reckoned. Bachelors or married men far from home, hoping that their wives hadn’t left them. It was a wondered people even got married, what with all the killing and the lack of jobs in most towns. The world was changing, at least that’s what the papers and Doc were always saying. People like Nicole, and people like the loggers, just didn’t work anymore.

Nicole rode up the trail to a small thicket of trees, watching her horse for any signs of distress. The last thing she wanted was to be mauled by a cougar in a state with a bounty on her head. Bobo hadn’t been specific about where north he was staying of Strawberry, and Nicole figured she ought to be used to it. After all, Bobo thrived on being vague. Nicole weren’t like the other people in camp; she didn’t dislike Bobo because of his eccentric style or his swindling attitude. Hell, by all accounts, if that were the case, they’d all hate Doc too. No, Bobo was different. Different from Doc and Nicole too. She had seen it in him a few times, when they were leaving Blackwater and again when he had his eyes on Waverly that first night. Nicole couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the look was, but it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

Nicole saw smoke rising from a cliff edge and figured that was her best bet at locating Bobo. The trail rounded and dipped up the rocky face, her horse’s feet slipping unpleasantly and Nicole having to soothe him as he startled. He whinnied as he spotted Bobo’s horse, a chestnut, American Standardbred. At least he had a friendly horse. Nicole slowed her own horse and dismounted, Bobo squatting by the fire irritatingly calm.

“You said you got a coach to rob?” Nicole sighed, picking up the percolator and pouring herself a cup of coffee. 

Bobo squinted at her, still squatting with his hand raised in the air seemingly trying to look devious, “Why don’t you speak a little louder, Honey, maybe then they’d know we’re coming,”

“You ain’t gonna go at all if you call me honey again,” Nicole warned.

“You are so testy, Haught. This is why you always get us into trouble. You’re too damn angry all the time,”

“Are you gonna show me this coach? Cause I’ll gladly go back to camp and report you got caught in the crossfires. A shame really, that I couldn’t even retrieve your body. When you fell in the river, that coat of yours just dragged you down,”

“Is that a threat?” Bobo growled.

“A promise,” Nicole grinned, “Now, where is this goddamn stagecoach?”

Bobo grinned then, and Nicole remembered how wolfish he was in appearance whenever he did. He snapped his teeth at her, motioning for her to follow him.

He mounted his horse, and Nicole followed suit, the silence between the two of them both eerie and comforting. Nicole wasn’t afraid of Bobo. She’d grown up around one of the fastest draws in the west, Doc Holliday. She could hold her own around Bobo Del Rey. It was just a matter of if she actually wanted to put him under. Right now, it looked pretty pleasing.

“The coach passes at the bottom of this mountain every day around this time, unguarded,” Bobo finally explained, “I heard some of Clootie’s men braggin’ about it in the saloon,”

“What were you doing with Clootie’s men in a saloon?” Nicole scoffed, reaching for her revolver unconsciously. 

“Relax, Haught, we ain’t allowed to drink in the same saloons now? Anyway! The guards change along this road, old guards step off a few miles down the path, and the new guards join them in Strawberry,”

“Seems like you want to get yourself killed,”

“You don’t trust me? Doc sure seems to,”

“I don’t trust Clootie. Whenever she’s involved, all hell breaks loose,”

“Just trust me on this, Haught. I got a man’s intuition. You wouldn’t understand. Now shut up, here they come,” He grinned, his body leaned forward in the saddle and tight like a spring. Nicole rested her hand on the butt of her revolver, watching as Bobo finally straightened.

“What’s the plan here?” Nicole whispered, her horse picked up on the nervous energy and began to shift underneath her.

“Don’t need a plan!” Bobo called, spurring his horse hard and shooting into the air. Nicole cursed under her breath as she raced after him, pulling up the red mask to cover her face. Bullets whizzed by her head as the sound of the shot took a bit longer to reach her ears, Bobo was riding alongside the wagon, shooting the left-over guards. So much for a man’s intuition. Nicole urged her horse forward, drawing her gun and steadily aiming at the driver and guard of the wagon. Two quick bullets were all it took while Bobo fired rapidly at the guards on horseback surrounding them. The coach’s horses ran for another mile, finally slowing down as the gunshots had ceased. Bobo laughed menacingly, leaping off his horse and heading for the coach.

“What in the hell was that!” Nicole called, her horse huffing underneath her as she finally caught up with the coach and Bobo.

“That was a robbery!” Bobo hollered, spreading his arms out like a bird.

“That was stupid! We don’t barrel in with guns blazing, that’s how folk die. That’s how folk get caught,” Nicole seethed. Bobo didn’t seem phased as he climbed into the driver’s seat, pulling the rifle from the dead guard’s hands.

“Here,” He called, throwing the gun towards Nicole, “Make yourself useful and shoot off the lock,” He held the horses steady as Nicole walked towards the back. She shot the lock off, the metal ting like music to her money-hungry ears. She pulled the lockbox from its spot, not noticing Bobo moving around the wagon.

“It’s a pretty good hit,” Nicole commented, pulling out a couple thousand dollars from the lockbox. She looked up to hand Bobo his share of the money only to be met with Bobo tugging a woman out of the coach.

“Look what I found,” He called, a grin stretched so far across his face it looked more like a grimace. The woman screamed out, her body landing with a thud as she hit the ground. “I bet you have jewels, don’t ya, pretty lady,” Bobo sneered, pulling out his knife as he grabbed the woman by her hair.

Nicole ran toward him, getting between him and the woman and pushing him away from her, “We don’t do that,” Nicole reiterated, standing between the disheveled woman and Bobo. Bobo scoffed at her, strutting in a semi-circle around Nicole.

“What is Doc gonna say when I tell him you let probably two hundred dollars in jewels go walking,”

“We don’t attack the innocent,”

“Them men we just shot were all innocent, weren’t they?”

“We wouldn’t have had to shoot ‘em if you hadn’t gone barreling towards them like a damn greenhorn,” 

“I see,” He drawled, “You can do all the shooting and robbing, but you can’t face the facts of what you do,”

“I face them just fine,” Nicole argued, her hand ready on her gun. Bobo had that look in his eyes again. And Nicole finally figured out what that look meant. Bobo wanted to kill. “Get out of here. We ain’t robbing her. And we sure ain’t cutting her or whatever the hell else you wanted to do with that blade,” Bobo rolled his eyes again, but relented, whistling for his horse and mounting up.

“I expect my share of the loot,” He warned, before spurring his horse and disappearing behind the hills. Nicole quickly turned to the woman, still on the ground and shaking.

“I’m sorry,” Nicole mumbled, helping the woman to her feet. Nicole knew it was dangerous, the woman could easily identify her now. There weren’t no hiding a redheaded lady outlaw. The woman was still shaking as she stood, standing as far away from Nicole as she could. “I ain’t gonna hurt you,” Nicole promised, “I ain’t him,”

Nicole moved to cut free one of the draft horses, running a calming hand down his neck, “You know how to ride?” Nicole asked, pointing to the horse. The woman nodded, her back pressed so hard into the coach Nicole thought she would morph into the coach itself. Nicole held her hand out for the woman to take, “Here I’ll help you up, and you just follow this road to Strawberry. A new set of guards should be headed this way, they’ll help ya a lot more than I can,” The woman reluctantly stepped away from the stagecoach, taking Nicole’s hand. Nicole spoke quietly and calmly as she lifted the woman onto the horse, the woman’s thin frame still shivering as she sat sidesaddle.

“Now go,” Nicole urged, whistling for her horse. “I can’t stay here,” She explained, holding her horse’s reins.

“Wait,” The woman called, unclasping a necklace and holding it out for Nicole to take, “Thank you,” She sighed, “For stopping him,”

Nicole took the necklace slowly, not wanting to startle the woman anymore, “Of course,” Nicole replied, pocketing the necklace, “I have to get out of here, but follow that road,” The woman nodded, and Nicole spurred her horse to move, riding hard to get away from the scene. That was the last damn job she ever did with Bobo Del Rey. If she had it her way, that might be the last job Bobo Del Rey did at all.

Nicole checked behind her one more time before turning into the trail that led to camp. The last thing she needed was to lead the law straight to some of the biggest bounties in the United States. The camp was busy with movement at this time of day, the stew just being served as people rushed to get bowls and fill their bellies. Doc was leaned back in a chair, his feet propped up on one of the tables the girls worked so hard to keep clean. Nicole hitched her horse and made her way over to him.

“Doc,” She called, standing beside him instead of sitting near him.

“Bobo’s already warned me,” He sighed, looking up at Nicole.

“Warned you about what?”

“How you didn’t agree with his plan for robbing that coach,”

“It wasn’t just the plan to rob the coach, Doc. He flew in there not worrying about the consequences. He shot before they even saw us,” Doc nodded as if Bobo’s way of robbing coaches all made sense to him. “He ain’t like us, Doc,” Nicole urged. “I saw it today, with the woman in the coach,”

“What woman in the coach?” Doc furrowed his brows and put down the bowl he had been holding.

“There was a woman traveling in the coach. Bobo dragged her out by her hair, pulled a knife on her. Doc, I think he wanted to kill her, there was a look in his eyes. I can’t explain it,”

“What happened to the woman?”

“She’s fine. I stopped him before he did anything serious. She was terrified, Doc. I sent her on her way,”

Doc nodded, moving his feet so they were back on the ground. He leaned over for a minute, tracing his mustache as he stared at the ground. Nicole felt her heart sink as Doc stayed like that for a minute. She had expected him to blow up about it. She had wanted him to storm towards Bobo’s tent and kick him out of camp. She wanted Doc to shoot the man dead quicker than the oily man could explain himself. Doc, however, just stayed like that for a moment before finally looking up at Nicole, “Thank you, Nicole. I’ll have a word with him,” Nicole felt her shoulders slump. She wanted to argue, but Doc didn’t allow that as he stood and walked to his tent, leaving his half-full bowl on the table.

Nicole sighed, grabbing the bowl and giving it to the stray dog that had wandered up a few days ago. The dog ate quickly, picking the chunks of meat out of the soap and throwing it back into his throat before lapping up the broth. Nicole had never known Doc to be a man to sweep disobedience under the rug. Hell, what Bobo did out there wasn’t just disobedient, it was disloyal. Everything the gang stood for Bobo went against it seemed. Nicole refused to give him his share of the money, planning on putting it in the donation box as soon as she could. The dog finished eating, and Nicole patted him on the head a few times before scooping up the bowl and taking it to the washbasin. She went about doing chores for the rest of the afternoon, no sense in wasting time in camp. Besides, no one seemed to ever be doing chores besides the women in camp. Even then, there were some jobs the women refused to do, like feed the horses or chopping wood.

Once she was done, Nicole didn’t feel like being around camp. However, this close to evening there would be no point in leaving just to come back again. Instead, she walked towards her horse, deciding rather quickly she would check his feet and brush him until it was appropriate to retire to her tent for the night. He nickered as she approached, his nose bumping at her chest pocket where she kept his treats when they were on the move. Nicole ran her hand down his nose with one hand as she pulled out an oatcake from her satchel and handed it to him. He seemed pleased with the development, munching loudly on the barely-there treat. She tapped his leg with her hand, waiting as he lifted his foot obediently. Nicole began to clean his hooves, scraping gunk out from his heel to his toe and checking each shoe to make sure it was still tight. Her horse was a relatively calm animal, not one to get spooked too often and usually pretty reliable in a gunfight. However, Nicole had seen enough people get killed with a swift kick to the head as they cleaned their horse’s shoes, and the thought always popped into her head when she would clean the back hooves.

There was plenty of gunk to be removed, a mixture of mud, hay, twigs, and a few rocks. Her horse stayed steady during all of it, and Nicole found no tender spots as she cleaned them. She moved on to brushing her horse. He butted his head against her as she moved toward his head, asking for another treat. Nicole grinned, pulling out another oatcake. She slowly brushed him, his feet shifting every now and again as he let out noisy sighs. Nicole was so transfixed with caring for him, she didn’t hear Waverly approach.

“You know, I never did properly thank you. For the other day,” Nicole looked up quickly at the sound of Waverly’s voice. She pulled the brush off her horse and held it in her hands, fumbling with it some as she moved to the other side of the horse.

“You don’t have to thank me,” Nicole shrugged, starting to brush the horse again. Waverly still stood there, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched Nicole work.

“Still,” She finally said, “Thank you. Thank you for everything,” Nicole figured everything included shooting all those men at the homestead. Nicole figured it included letting her stay with the gang. Instead of asking, Nicole nodded, rolling her lips in on themselves as her eyes were downcast. Waverly took a few tentative steps forward, Nicole shifting her weight from one foot to the next. The horse was still in between them, but this was the closest the two had been since their trip to the general store.

Waverly reached out and ran a hand down the horse’s neck, whispering softly to him and not Nicole. Finally, she opened her mouth, “What’s his name?”

“Huh?” Nicole asked unintelligently, her eyes wider than normal. She could feel the blush rising to her cheeks and she hated herself for it.

“What’s your horse’s name? I know a few of the horse’s names, but not yours,”

“Ah,” Nicole nodded, swallowing hard against the lump in her throat, “King of Hearts,” She finally said, and then rushed to add, “But I usually just call him King,”

“King of Hearts? Like the playing card?” Waverly asked, a small smile on her face.

Nicole nodded, “Yeah, like the playing card. I uh, I won the last bit of money I needed to buy him in a poker game, so I thought it was appropriate,”

“I like it,” Waverly reassured, running her hand through the horse’s forelock as she scratched his head. “It suits him,” She remarked, patting his neck one last time before stepping away.

Nicole just stood there, staring at Waverly for a minute. Waverly smiled back at her, throwing her thumb over her shoulder, “I better get back, don’t want Gus angry with me,”

“Yeah, course,” Nicole nodded, watching as Waverly turned and made her way through camp. King whinnied, shifting his feet and nodding his head in excitement. “I got to worry about you now too?” Nicole asked, running her hand down the horse’s nose. He snorted loudly, the rush of air slapping Nicole in the face. Yeah, Nicole was a fool.


	4. Yes, Miss Waverly

Wynonna rounded the corner of Nicole’s tent a few hours later, her blue eyes wide with excitement. She plopped onto Nicole’s cot, kicking her feet up on the small table Nicole kept in her tent. Nicole looked up from stick she was whittling, a single eyebrow raised at the other woman.

“You wanted to talk?” Nicole assumed, trying to keep the bite out of her voice.

“I figured out how to stop the train,”

“We board it?”

“Smartass isn’t a good look on you, Haught,” Wynonna huffed, sitting up in the cot, “I board it when it leaves Annesburg,” Nicole stared at her for a minute. The idea wasn’t the craziest, not by Wynonna’s standards, at least, but it was still dangerous.

“You want to buy a ticket, board the train, and take on the fifteen plus guards singlehandedly?” Nicole questioned, placing the stick she had been whittling on the table and putting away her knife. “I’m sorry, have you hit your head recently?” Nicole scoffed, standing from her chair.

“They won’t expect it from me,” Wynonna argued, “I can borrow a dress. Rosita can curl my hair, fix me with some makeup. Hell, those things have a hundred pockets, I could hide all sorts of weapons in it,”

“And get yourself killed,”

“You said it yourself, Haught. I’m one of the best shots,”

“That doesn’t mean you can singlehandedly take on a guarded train. Have you forgotten you have a daughter?”

Wynonna threw her hands in the air, scoffing at the accusation. Nicole sighed, regretting the words after they left her mouth. Of course, Wynonna hadn’t forgotten about Alice. Hell, Alice was the reason they were all more on edge than they had been in years. The reason Doc was on all of their asses to get money.

“I haven’t forgotten shit. Listen, I’m trying to help you out. I’m trying to make this hit the best one possible. We can’t do that if the train doesn’t stop,” Wynonna seethed.

“And what if you don’t get the train to stop? Or worse, what if you get shot?”

“Oh, I’ll stop the train,” Wynonna grinned, unholstering her favorite revolver. Nicole pushed the barrel away from her, glaring down at the other woman. 

“You’re really not worried about getting shot?” Nicole paused, weighing the words on the tip of her tongue before speaking, “What would happen to Alice?”

“Doc’s here,” Wynonna scoffed, “Even if he wasn’t, Waverly’s here now,”

“You can’t put that on your sister,”

“And I won’t. Because. I. Ain’t. Gonna. Get. Shot.” Nicole would be lying if she said she was just worried about Wynonna’s safety. She was concerned about Wynonna’s safety, of course she was, and she was also concerned about what would happen to Alice if Wynonna wasn’t there. She was also worried about how Doc would react. He’d be worried about Wynonna, of course he would, but Nicole had just bitched to him about how Bobo didn’t follow their rules. Now, Nicole would be breaking them too since she was heading this train hit.

“I’m trying to help you,” Wynonna added after a beat, “You and I both know I could get away with wandering aimlessly in the cars more so than any of the boys could,”

“Take Dolls with you,” Nicole argued, already knowing Wynonna would never agree to it.

“No. You know that would never work,” Nicole nodded, plopping down next to Wynonna on the cot.

“I know,” She sighed, adjusting her hat, “I can’t just let you go alone, though,” The two stared at each other for a minute, an unreadable expression on Wynonna face. Nicole feared Wynonna was going to blow up at her. Possibly punch her or something equally as disastrous that only a pissed off Wynonna would do. Instead, Wynonna sighed audibly, pushing against her knees as she stood with a slight groan.

“You don’t get to make this decision for me,” She said, purposely walking towards Doc’s tent.

Wynonna left the next morning, the sun barely over the mountains as she rode away on Peacemaker. Nicole wondered if Doc had gone mad. She wondered if it was his form of payback for causing such a fuss over Bobo. More than anything, though, she wondered why he would send the mother of his child into a possible death sentence. Doc never made much sense, though, and Nicole was a far cry from understanding the likes of Doc Holliday.

Nicole had been up to see Wynonna ride off, smiling to herself when she saw Curtis leave a few minutes after her. He wouldn’t’ dare board the train, Nicole knew his intense fear of the locomotives, but he would make sure she got there in one piece. Nicole picked up some of Curtis’s chores while Shorty chopped vegetables, and the coffee began to perk. It was a stupid thing to wish for, but Nicole couldn’t stop herself from wishing Wynonna had changed her mind and started to head back. Wynonna Earp rarely changed her mind, and Nicole knew that this situation wasn’t one of those times. Nicole had just swung the axe down and through a particularly stubborn log when Waverly appeared a few feet away. Her arms were wrapped around herself, and there was a frown on her face, Alice a few paces behind her.

“Morning, Miss Waverly,” Nicole called, leaning the axe against the pile of chopped wood.

“You mind escortin’ us down to the water? I need to pick some herbs,”

Nicole tilted her head curiously, wiping the sweat from her brow as she wiggled the sticky work gloves off her hands.

“Why me?” She asked. She squinted up at Waverly, the girl taller than her, thanks to the slight slope of the camp.

“Cause, you’re the one that let my sister go to see if she could get herself shot,” Waverly made sure Alice was distracted as she said the last part, her words quiet but still seething.

“I didn’t make Wynonna do anything,” Nicole argued, tucking the gloves into the back pocket of her jeans.

Waverly turned quickly to face Nicole, glaring down at the woman as she approached her. For the first time, Nicole noticed the similarities between the two sisters. Their eyes alone could damn a man if they wanted. Finally, Waverly relented, her shoulders slumping as she turned away from Nicole,

“I’m sorry. I’m blaming you for Wynonna’s own stupidity,”

“It’s alright,” Nicole sighed, motioning for Waverly to follow her, “I’ll take y’all to the water,”

The water was the Dakota River, a few miles from camp. It was downhill mostly, so Nicole didn’t hesitate to pick up Alice and put the small girl on her shoulders when she complained of being too tired to continue. Waverly gave a small smile as Alice squealed at being so high, telling her to calm down or she’d fall. Nicole knew that wouldn’t happen, her grip steady to ensure the little girl didn’t topple from her shoulders. She figured Waverly wasn’t actually worried, she led the way to the river, rarely turning to check on Nicole or Alice. Somewhere along the way, Alice had decided to take Nicole’s hat and put it on her own head, the hat falling over her eyes and her having to adjust it constantly. It also meant she got to grip at Nicole’s hair with her tiny hands, pulling harshly as she scrambled to regain any balance she might have lost fixing the hat. Nicole sighed in relief when she saw the water, Alice tightening her grip in excitement and letting out a small squeal.

When they caught up with Waverly at the water’s edge, Nicole reckoned she was bald. She lifted Alice from her shoulders and placed her in the dry grass, telling her not to ruin her shoes. Alice plopped onto the ground, wrestling with her boots as she tried to untie them. Waverly tsked, moving to help her only to have Alice immediately bolt towards the mud once they were off her feet. Waverly chuckled slightly, finally looking up at Nicole.

“I like what you’ve done with your hair. Very French,” Waverly said, a teasing smile on her face.

“I see the Earp sarcasm trickles down to you too,” Nicole scowled, trying not to blush as she flattened the hair that Alice had yanked on for the past fifteen minutes.

“Hmm, you have no idea. Mind making sure she doesn’t go out too far, some of the herbs are a little tricky to find with so much green around them,”

Nicole nodded, watching as Alice slapped together her muddy hands, sending up little splatters of the stuff onto her face and Nicole’s hat. Waverly hummed as she hunted for herbs, making small gasp when she found the ones she wanted and tucking them into the pockets of her dress. Nicole took the time to take peeks at the other woman. She had avoided looking at Waverly too much during the few weeks she’d been running with them. Something about staring too long at the girl made her nervous. Probably ‘cause the girls at camp would make something out of nothing. That’s exactly why she’d avoided it, Nicole convinced herself. Sure, Nicole could agree with them that Waverly was pretty. Damn, Waverly was downright beautiful, but that didn’t mean Nicole wanted anything to do with her. She was just new. Something shiny, that’s all.

Alice squealed from the bank of the river, pointing wildly as a fish slapped the water noisily. Nicole chuckled as the little girl began backing up onto higher ground, the Earp nerves of steel not quite fully developed. Nicole looked back to Waverly, still yanking weeds out of the ground.

“What are you pickin’ herbs for? Shorty’s cookin’ that bad?” Waverly grinned and shook her head, not taking her eyes off the patch of ground in front of her.

“No, I actually like his cooking. Much better than what I made back at the homestead. I’m getting some medicinal herbs. Yarrow, mallow, those sorts of things,” She explained, a few plants poking out from her left dress pocket. “I found some ginseng around the camp. It’s always a good idea to be stocked up in case something happens,”

Nicole scratched her chin as she continued to watch Waverly yank plants from the ground and stuff them into her pockets. She knew a little about plants, a kind gentleman who ran with them for a few months had taught her when she was young, but Waverly seemed to be especially knowledgeable on the subject.

“Where’d ya learn all this stuff, though?” Nicole asked, taking the last store-bought cigarette from its package and lighting it. Waverly sighed, leaning back to where she was sitting on her feet and wiping the sweat from her forehead. A streak of mud cut right across her forehead as she squinted up at Nicole.

“Mama taught me,” she then continued to dig into the ground, talking in spaces to the point Nicole sometimes wondered if she were finished, “Drink had a mean hold on daddy, and daddy had a mean fist when he was drunk. Mama couldn’t do much about it, bringing us all into town bruised up, her included. It would’ve just started rumors. Instead, she just learned what we needed. She taught all of us. I think I’s the only one that listened to her though,”

Nicole frowned, not surprised to hear of their father’s drinking or beating. Wynonna had told similar stories when she was drunk, her words slurring as her eyes blazed.

“Wynonna, not care for it?” Nicole smiled, exhaling slowly as she watched Waverly laugh.

“Not at all. Wynonna would rather be waist-deep in a bear den than pick flowers with me and mama,” Waverly grinned, digging deeper into the mud. Nicole smiled, deciding to not ask any more questions. She didn’t want to push Waverly more than she probably already had.

They stayed by the water for another twenty minutes before Alice sluggishly leaned against Waverly’s back, asking when they’d go back to camp. Nicole helped Alice wash the mud off her hands and face, promising the little girl that she wouldn’t let the big fish anywhere near them. Nicole then placed Alice on her shoulders again, going significantly slower now that they were moving uphill. Luckily, Alice was falling asleep instead of yanking at her hair. Waverly kept pace with them now, occasionally throwing up a hand when Alice would start dosing off and leaning away from Nicole. She’d always jerk herself awake, quickly wrapping her arms around Nicole’s head and sometimes blocking her eyes.

They arrived back to the camp soon enough, Nicole gently walking towards Wynonna’s tent and setting Alice down to sleep. Kate smiled at her from across camp, a mischievous look in her eyes that Nicole noticed from afar. Waverly got Alice settled before motioning for Nicole to follow her outside the tent. Waverly pulled the curtains tight as if the flimsy sheet of the tent would prevent the noises of camp from waking Alice.

“Thank you. Seems I’ve been saying that a lot lately,” Waverly smiled. She handed Nicole back her hat before crossing her arms and walking further into camp. Nicole followed, compelled by some unknown force to continue their interaction.

“You don’t got to thank me,” Nicole shook her head, adjusting her hat nervously. Waverly turned back, a small smile still on her lips.

“I wasn’t expecting her to get that tired. I know Wynonna thinks I’m good at all that kinda stuff. I think she forgets that she practically helped mama raise me,”

“I can’t say I ever saw Wynonna raising children, not until Alice came along, of course,” Nicole commented. Waverly turned to look up at her, Nicole’s heart thumping harder at the proximity.

“I know that’s why she’s been acting so…brazen, lately. She thinks she’s this big bad outlaw, but I know what goes on in that head of hers. Or at least sometimes I do,” Waverly sighed, “Now that I’m here, I’m afraid she’s gonna ride herself off a cliff doing something stupid,”

“Wynonna ain’t like that,” Nicole reasoned, “She ain’t gonna get herself killed,” 

Waverly nodded, leaning back as if she was observing Nicole. Finally, she reached a hand out and gripped Nicole’s own tightly, pulling it closer to her chest, “I know you can’t, not really anyway, but can you promise me that you’ll look out for her?”

Nicole could only stare dumbly as Waverly pleaded, her old calloused hand being cradled so gently by both of Waverly’s now. Finally, she nodded slowly, her heart a slow, steady beat, “Yes, ma’am,”

Waverly sighed, a relieved smile on her face as she patted Nicole’s hand once before dropping it. Nicole stumbled back from her and tried to ignore the heat in her own cheeks as Waverly excused herself. Chrissy gave Nicole a knowing smile as she nearly ran towards her tent. She was a fool. A complete and utter fool and all it took was Waverly Earp to bring it out in her.

* * *

Nicole dismounted her horse, startling when Robin poked his head out from a down tree. The train was coming through in a few hours, and their rendezvous point was in a thick patch of woods a few paces from the track. Nicole led King to the other two horses, hoping they’d be less likely to flee if a gunfight started. She checked her guns one last time, having meticulously cleaned them before she left camp, before walking to where Robin and Dolls were. 

“We need to start making our way over. Train will be through in a couple of hours,” Dolls said, tucking away his pocket watch. Nicole had picked up on his nervous energy, questioning whether he’d be okay to do this run. He had brushed it off, but now Nicole could see how jumpy the usual calm man was. Nicole might have been a fool, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew Dolls was worried about Wynonna and looking down at her own twitchy hands; she reckoned she was nervous about her too.

The trio silently made their way towards the tracks, frequently stopping to listen for any riders or signs of the train. Nicole ordered Robin to take the cargo car, not trusting herself nor Dolls to be able to search the thing. She ordered Dolls to keep an eye on things until she could find Wynonna. After that, he could take over the engine car. A loud whistle ripped through the air, the tracks groaning as they shook from the force the approaching train was putting on them. Nicole pulled the red mask over her face, holding her breath as the front light nearly blinded her as it rounded the corner. Her fingers twitched against the grip of her revolver, counting the seconds silently to herself as the train kept moving towards them. Nicole closed her eyes tightly, she hadn’t ever believed in nothing, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t send up a little prayer right then. Waverly’s words echoing in her head as she imagined what had happened to Wynonna.

Her eyes flew open as a loud screech filled her ears, sparks flying on the tracks as the train’s breaks locked down onto the metal. It was a terrible sound. A sound that most of the time made Nicole wince. This time, however, it was music to Nicole’s ears.

“Go,” She ordered, pushing Robin towards the back half of the train. It was then she noticed the back half of the train wasn’t there at all, only six cars and an engine car. Dammit Wynonna had actually done it. Dolls stood guard outside as Nicole climbed into the engine car, Wynonna casually leaning against the tender car’s wall.

“Told ya I’d have it under control,” She smirked. Nicole decided to ignore the blood splattered across the dress and soaked into the sleeves.

“And what’d ya do with the rest of the cars?” Nicole grinned, encouraging Wynonna to lead the way to the passenger cars.

“Split the train up about two hours ago. We were in shitsville nowhere, figured it would take them a long time to find anyone to report it too,”

“I’ll get the back you get the front,” Nicole ordered, jumping off the train and running to the back of the first car. She jumped back on bursting through the back door of the first passenger car, waving her gun aggressively as she declared robbery. She went down the aisles, demanding people hand over their valuables. Wynonna ran enforcer, not hard when she was covered in so much blood. They moved onto the next car, Robin signaling he was done in the luggage cart.

Wynonna glowered at a man refusing to hand over anything, Nicole stepping back to allow Wynonna near the man. Wynonna nearly growled at him, slamming her revolver into his jaw, a sickening crunch filling the space. He blindly reached for his pocket, handing over a watch.

“The rings too,” Wynonna ordered, grabbing the man’s wrist and yanking the rings from his fingers. He grumbled, snatching his hand back to hold his jaw as he glared at Wynonna.

They continued down the car, the bag getting heavier in Nicole’s hands. Nicole’s internal clock was ticking. They needed to get going, the longer they stayed on the train the more likely they were gonna get caught. A young woman whimpered as she handed over her valuables, shooting back into her seat so fast it made Nicole flinch. It was never gonna be easy to see the fear she could evoke in people. The car door opened, Nicole not paying it any mind at first, thinking it was Robin or Dolls telling them to hurry. When nothing was said, she glanced up, the glint of a gun easy to spot by an eye who’d seen more guns than she cared to admit. Nicole moved on instinct, yanking Wynonna down as the man from earlier slung his arm out, firing five quick rounds. Nicole felt the bullets rip through her flesh long before the sound of the shots reached her ears. Another shot rang out, Wynonna’s Colt smoking as the man fell backwards from the blast, a clean hole in his head. The passengers screamed, scrambling from their seats.   


“Shit,” Nicole cursed, moving to gather the spilled jewelry and watches and place them back in the bag. She weren’t dead yet. She weren’t dead. She weren’t dead.

“Don’t none of you move,” Wynonna warned, waving her gun at the passengers, an eerie calmness about her. Dolls burst through the door, his rifle in his hands.

“Heard shots,” He trailed off, observing the scene in front of him.

“We gotta get outta here. Anybody moves they’ll end up like the bastard on the floor, hear me?” Wynonna warned, then turned back to Dolls, “Get her outta here, I’ll send Robin out and start the train back,”

Dolls nodded, strapping his rifle to his back and helping Nicole to her feet. Nicole grimaced, the wound in her shoulder bubbling with every step she took. Robin met them outside the train, moving to help Dolls carry her.

“Put pressure on the wound,” Dolls ordered, whistling for his horse. The sound of the horses approaching was overshadowed by the sound of the train moving again, Wynonna at their sides a few seconds later.

“We got to get her back to camp,” Nicole could hear Wynonna say, but her head was feeling awfully heavy.

“Haught,” Dolls called, his hand gently tapping her cheek.

“Hmm?” Nicole sighed, fuck was life always this fuzzy.

“Get her on the horse, Robin don’t stop with the pressure,” Wynonna ordered. Nicole could feel herself being lifted, the smell of horse filling her nostrils as she maneuvered onto the horse. She weren’t too sure who was behind her in the saddle, the smell of gun oil strongly indicating either Robin or Dolls. Nicole decided she didn’t really care. She just needed to shut her eyes for a minute. Just a minute. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d fallen asleep in the saddle.

* * *

Nicole woke with a start, her nose burning with every breath. She was disoriented, and the figures around her were fuzzy.

“Lay back, sweetie,” a voice called. Gus. Why the hell was Gus calling her sweetie?

“We have to clean out the wounds,” Nicole couldn’t ever mistake that voice. Waverly’s face appeared in front of her, slightly fuzzy at first before clearing. “Nicole, this is gonna hurt okay. Try to stay awake for me please,”

“es, mmm” Nicole mumbled out, her brain still too foggy to fully form words. Her nose was still burning, and she reached for it blindly. Her hand was wet and sticky, and she couldn’t remember why. Waverly tsked at her, her delicate hands moving Nicole’s away from her face.

“Just cut around the wound,” Gus ordered, a cold blade pressing against Nicole’s skin before they peeled back the torn bit of cloth. It stuck unpleasantly to her skin, and Nicole feared she had sweated so badly while robbing the train, it must have been permanently stuck to her.

“Chrissy, get me a bucket of water. Kate hold the knife over that torch,” Nicole glanced over to Waverly giving out orders. She was very pretty – the prettiest girl she had ever seen. Nicole grinned at her, Waverly’s face paler than she had ever seen it. “Hurry!” Waverly ordered before a gentle hand came to rest on Nicole’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Nicole,” Waverly winced.

A sharp pain shot down from Nicole’s shoulder, an involuntary groan escaping her lips as the pain went deeper. She felt pressure on her legs and realized she must have been fighting someone. She kicked out sharply as the pain quit, a muffled groan coming from the foot of her cot. Another sharp pain hit her shoulder, this time worse than before.

“Fuck,” She whimpered, pulling away from the pain.

“Sorry, I’m sorry,” Waverly called, “Give her some whiskey or something, you assholes,”

Another strike of pain hit, but this time Nicole just closed her eyes. The last thing she heard before she went out was Waverly’s quiet curse.

Nicole didn’t know how long she had been out of it. Her shoulder was stiff, and her throat was drier than it had ever been. She realized she was still on her cot, the moon shining through the trees enough for her to see most of the camp had been packed up or into the wagons. She groaned softly, turning to see a slumped over Waverly. Her usually neat hair was strewn across her face at odd angles, her head slumped over and her arms crossed as she slept. Nicole smiled despite herself. She went to move, but a burning sensation in her shoulder stopped her, a small gasp leaving her lips. Waverly was up immediately, pushing the hair in her face away as she moved to help Nicole sit back into the cot.

“Careful,” She whispered, her voice hoarse as a steady hand pushed Nicole back. Once Nicole was settled, Waverly grabbed the small tin cup Nicole kept in her satchel, guiding it to Nicole’s mouth. Nicole tried to mind her manners but ended up guzzling the water down. Her throat still dry despite the water.

“I know you must be thirsty, but we have to see if you can keep that down,” Waverly reassured, placing the cup back onto the table. “You remember what happened?”

“Got shot,” Nicole mumbled, her tongue still not sure if it wanted to form words.

“Mhmm, you got shot,” Silence stretched between them, Nicole closing her eyes to rest.

The next time Nicole woke was due to her body being jarred uncomfortably. She was still lying down, her cot underneath her. The world was less fuzzy this time, but now it was too bright. She squinted against the sun, trying to figure out what the noise that tickled at her ear. She finally realized it was heaving breathing, most likely from Nedley, the unique smell of wood smoke and cigars that followed him invading her senses

“Be careful, set her down gentle as you can. Waverly will have a fit if one of those wounds start bleeding again,” Gus called from close by, Nicole trying to call out for her only to be reminded of how dry her throat was. She was jostled from left to right as the sounds of the people around her started to become clear. Nedley was the one nearest her head, breathing heavily as he helped lift her into the wagon. She wasn’t sure who was at her feet. They swayed much less than Nedley did, and Nicole wished, for only a moment, that Nedley was at her feet instead.

The cot made a scratching noise as it scraped across the wood. The whole cot vibrating, causing her shoulder to ache. She clenched her teeth to try and ignore the pain. Nedley hushed her, patting her leg reassuringly as he said something she couldn’t quite make out when pain was shooting down her arm. The wagon shook a little, someone climbing into the back alongside her. It shook again as someone pulled themselves into the driver’s seat, the sound of the reins slapping against the horses’ backsides comforting Nicole in an odd way. The wagon rocked Nicole back to sleep.

It was much the same for the next five days. Nicole slept most of it away. The times she was awake, Waverly or Gus would supply water and stew. Nicole was pretty sure she was dying at some point, Waverly offering her whole garlic gloves, demanding her to eat most of it. Waverly kept mentioning that it helped that they were out of the elements, a roof over their heads did the healing process good. Curtis had found the old plantation house a few weeks back, deep in the state of Lemoyne. He had been keeping Doc in the loop about the house as the gang who previously occupied it had stockpiled weapons. Nicole wondered who had cleared them out so they could set up camp there, but knew it was probably Dolls and Wynonna.

After a week, Nicole was able to stay awake for a few hours at a time. While she had initially considered that as an improvement, she quickly learned that being awake meant that she also had to sit through Waverly treating her wounds. It hurt; hurt more whenever Waverly would apologize for it.

“Sorry, the stew’s a little cold,” Waverly apologized, handing over the bowl.

“Is alright,” Nicole grinned, taking the stew happily. She needed to build her strength up. She felt weaker than she had in years. She doubted she could even be able to hold her gun up straight if she were to shoot right now.

Waverly placed the back of her hand on Nicole’s bandage shoulder, shaking her head and mumbling to herself, “It needs to be cleaned again. You feel up to eat another clove of garlic?” Nicole scowled at her, a small smile forming on Waverly’s lips. “Fine, I’ll add it to the salve I’m making,” She turned to the table where she kept all her supplies, pulling out her own mortar and pestle. Nicole wondered if Waverly knew that she hummed whenever she worked. A melody that Nicole had never heard before she took Waverly and Alice down to the river. Nicole enjoyed it, listening as the humming got softer the more Waverly concentrated. She decided not to tell Waverly. She might stop if Nicole did.

“I need to change your bandages and clean out the wounds,” Waverly admitted, grimacing at Nicole. Nicole nodded, sitting up straighter to give Waverly better access to her shoulder.

“You know you don’t have to do this,” Nicole reminded her, “Gus has changed it before,”

“And I redid it after she left,”

“Well, she might get better at it if you’d let her do it more,” Nicole gave her a cheeky grin, loving how Waverly huffed at her when she did so.

“If you want me to leave I’ll gladly do it, I’m sure Gus could handle the serious infection you have brewing in this one,” She said, paying extra care to the wound closest to Nicole’s deltoid.

“I’m just teasing, Miss Waverly,” Nicole reassured, wincing slightly at the pain, “Thank you for taking this,”

Waverly smiled, wiping the solution out of the wound gently to not aggravate it any more. “You don’t have to thank me. If you do, we’ll get caught in a cycle of telling each other thank you,” She finally said, softly rinsing out the wounds individually. “Why do you call me that anyway?” She asked, pausing her ministrations.

“Call ya what?”

Waverly rolled her eyes, “Miss Waverly,”

Nicole tilted her head, confused by the problem, “Well, that’s what you call a lady,”

“You don’t address the other girls like that. Do you not think they’re ladies?”

“You know that ain’t what I meant,” Nicole smiled softly, making sure Waverly was looking at her, “I know them. They’ve been in the gang a while,”

“You mean you’ve slept with them,”

Nicole nearly choked on her own tongue, “What?”

Waverly rolled her eyes, “Your name isn’t spared when the girls’ gossip,” Nicole shrunk back at the admission, wondering just exactly what those girls were playing at. She could feel her cheeks and neck heating up and tried to find something to say.

“I haven’t slept with all of them,” She defended weakly. Waverly shook her head slightly, but there was a small smile on her face.

“I don’t care,” Waverly waved her off after a while, “I just like makin’ ya turn red,”

“That’s really not why I talk to them so informally,” Nicole added after a stretch of silence, “You’ve only been running with the gang a few weeks, I didn’t think we were that familiar,”

“I’ve seen your entire upper half because of these wounds. You still don’t think we’re familiar?” Waverly asked, a sharpness to her voice that Nicole didn’t like. It also didn’t help that the idea of Waverly having to undress Nicole was all too many levels of blushing.

“I suppose you’re right,” Nicole relented, her cheeks still hot.

“So, stop it,” Waverly ordered, pointing a paste covered finger at Nicole.

“Yes, Miss Waverly,” Nicole sighed out, closing her eyes as she laid her head back. Waverly smushed some of the salve paste into the wound harsher than normal, causing Nicole’s eyes to fly open as she winced. Waverly gave her a knowing look, Nicole sighed “Yes, Waverly,”

“Better,” Waverly smiled, gently running her finger over the wound she had just abused before leaning down to kiss it. Nicole’s cheeks were officially a permanent shade of red.


	5. Visitors and Concussions

Once Nicole managed to stay awake longer than a few hours, Waverly allowed people to come and visit her. Nicole could vaguely remember people coming in and out of the room when she was first brought into the house, but the memories were fuzzy. For the most part, the only person Nicole had seen for the past two weeks had been Waverly. Gus would occasionally drop in to check up on her, but she never stayed long, and Nicole would sometimes fall asleep during those visits. Nicole didn’t mind Waverly’s company, in fact, she begrudgingly had to admit she enjoyed Waverly’s company a little too much, but Nicole still missed her family.

Doc was the first one to come see her, his hat being twisted by both of his hands as he entered. Nicole had seen Doc in many situations but never had he looked so worn. His skin was paler than usual, and dark rings outlined his eyes. He asked Waverly for some privacy, the youngest Earp staring daggers at the man before she finally left. Doc huffed out a wet sigh, coughing at the tail end of it before looking down at Nicole. He kept his hat between his hands, moving to the seat Waverly had been occupying for the past few weeks.

“How ya feeling?” He asked, his blue eyes watery as he checked Nicole for any serious wounds.

“Sore. Waverly says I’m lucky the gun was such a tiny thing,” Doc chuckled, nodding in agreement. “It’d all be worth it if the profit was good?” Nicole finished, looking up at Doc to try to gauge his reaction. Nicole knew deep down that no matter where the bag of loot had ended up, Doc wouldn’t blame her for a bad hit. Not when she was still laid up in bed with five bullet wounds in her arm. She had to know, though.

“Money is good,” Doc smiled, a tint to his teeth Nicole couldn’t place, “A good hit, actually. Dolls delivered me the profits the day after y’all got back. I let him be in charge of your share until you were back up on your feet,”

“How much has it brought?”

“Curtis is still selling a lot of the stuff. Good so far though, over $2,000 believe it or not,”

“Rich bastards,” Nicole chuckled, shaking her head at the thought of all that money.

“I do wish that it could have happened without you getting shot,”

Nicole shrugged, a dull pain shooting down her arm as she did so, “It’s a dangerous line of work we do,”

“It surely is,” Doc nodded, “I’m sorry, Nicole. For putting you in that position,” He said after a minute, his voice slightly cracking as he stared at the ground, “But I do want you to know that I thank you, with every ounce of my being, for protecting Wynonna,” Nicole could feel a lump rising in her throat. It had come naturally to protect Wynonna, and Nicole hated to admit that it wasn’t because of Doc. It wasn’t cause of Wynonna either, for that matter. It was because of a half-assed promise she had made to Waverly.

“Course, Doc,”

“I best be letting you rest. I’m afraid Miss Waverly might just throw me off the balcony if I don’t,” Nicole smiled, the thought equally amusing and touching.

“She seems to be very persuasive,”

“She seems to have taken a shine to you,” Doc grinned, his eyes twinkling in the way Nicole remembered. She rolled her eyes at him, her face flushing despite her waving off the comment. Doc’s smile grew as he winked at her quickly, “Secret’s safe with me,” He assured, placing his hat back on his head as he left the room.

Waverly entered the room soon after, a frown still on her face. She sat down with a huff, moving her chair closer to Nicole. Waverly signaled that she needed to clean the wounds again, pulling out various herbs from the small bag she kept on the table. She began to grind the herbs together, her eyebrows furrowed as she did so. She didn’t hum while she worked, and Nicole was upset with herself for missing it.

“They’re healing up well,” Waverly commented, placing the salve onto the worst of the wounds. They were small craters now, the wounds only a few inches deep in the muscle. The gun was too small to cause any life-altering damage, despite how sore Nicole was the bullets hadn’t gotten anywhere near the bones.

Nicole decided to ignore Waverly’s foul mood from earlier. She figured it had something to do with Doc, and perhaps she should have a word with him after she healed up, but the more time that passed, the less angry Waverly seemed to become. Instead, Nicole nodded, reassuring Waverly that the bandages she had wrapped around Nicole’s shoulder weren’t too tight. Another knock on the door sounded, and Nicole sighed in relief as Waverly grinned up at Dolls in the doorway, an offering of stew in his hands.

Visitors came and went several times throughout the next week. Nicole hated to admit how choked up Nedley had gotten when he was finally able to talk to her. The man that she had always looked up to nearly shedding tears over her made her heart ache. Chrissy, on the other hand, wasn’t as worried about Nicole’s health, and instead made dramatic faces every time Waverly did something for Nicole. Nicole tried to shut down the looks as fast as she could, Waverly catching a few of them as Chrissy was anything but subtle. Chrissy would cackle about it, Waverly swatting at her friend as she continued to do whatever it was that Nicole needed. Nicole couldn’t help but notice the pretty shade of pink that would cover Waverly’s face whenever Chrissy wasn’t looking.

Dolls had visited every day, reassuring Nicole that everything was running fine in camp. He would occasionally bring Waverly plants she had requested, and he would often bring Nicole stew. It became a routine for them to sit in Nicole’s room, the balcony doors open letting in the hot, muggy air of the swamp around them. It offered little relief, but any breeze was better than the still hot air that hovered around them when the house was shut up during the day. Dolls had given Nicole her share of the money the first day she was allowed visitors. He had hidden it away in one of the sewed in pockets Gus had stitched into Nicole’s wardrobe chest. Waverly had commented how smart of a hiding spot it was, and then berated both of them for allowing Doc to handle all of the gang’s money after Blackwater. Dolls had snickered at that, blowing smoke out of the open door as Waverly complained. Nicole would be lying if she hadn’t thought the same thing. After all, they were in the situation they were in because Doc had left _all_ of their money in a city they couldn’t go into without getting shot.

Those thoughts were stopped altogether as the door swung open, the door handle crashing into the wall behind it. Dolls reached for his gun, pausing when he realized who was at the door.

“Haught,” Wynonna smiled, slamming the door shut behind her. Her footsteps were a little heavy, and she swayed a bit as she stood in the room. It was awfully early to be drinking, but Wynonna was surely acting drunk. “Got ya something,” She finally said, wrestling with her coat jacket. Waverly sighed audibly, gaining Nicole’s attention quickly. Waverly looked tired. No, Waverly looked downright exhausted.

Finally, Wynonna pulled out a shiny little gun. There were delicate engravings that covered the barrel and cylinder, and Nicole’s initials carved on the bottom corner of the grip.

“Is that the guy’s gun?” Dolls asked, moving to grab it. Wynonna yanked it out of his reach, swaying more heavily on her feet at the sudden movement.

“The very same,” She grinned, moving to hand it over to Nicole. She tripped only a little on her way to the bed.

“How’d you even get this?” Nicole asked, taking the gun in her hands to look over it.

“Grabbed it before I started the train back. Figured if you lived, it be a fun little trinket,” Wynonna shrugged.

“Fun little trinket is an understatement,” Nicole smiled, handing the gun over to Waverly’s curious hands. Wynonna brow quirked at the exchange, and Nicole could feel her face heating up as Wynonna looked between the two of them. The last person Nicole needed on her back was Wynonna Earp.

“Interesting way of showing you care, Nonna,” Waverly sighed, handing the gun back to Nicole. If the words were meant to be harsh, Wynonna didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she stayed, chatting with Dolls and Nicole as Waverly all but ignored her. It was odd, Nicole realized, for Waverly to be so withdrawn, especially since it was her own sister. She decided to cut the visits short after that, complaining of being tired to make Wynonna and Dolls leave. Waverly closed the door softly, turning back to Nicole.

“You want me to shut the balcony door before I leave?” Nicole shook her head, motioning for Waverly to come sit on the bed. Waverly did so without hesitation, sighing contently as she sat.

“I ain’t really tired,” Nicole admitted, “But I can tell you are. Why don’t you get some rest?”

“Oh,” Waverly sighed, her eyes shifting from one side of the room to the other. She folded her hands over themselves, again and again, shifting slightly on the bed.

“What is it?” Nicole asked, reaching out to stop Waverly’s hands from fidgeting. She didn’t notice when Waverly didn’t pull her hands away.

“Nothing, it’s just. It’s nothing,” Waverly explained, huffing out a sigh as she went to move off the bed. Nicole stopped, a firm hand laid over the other woman’s lap.

“What’s wrong? Something happen with Wynonna?”

Waverly’s eyes flicked around the room for a minute, not settling too long on any one thing. She finally shrugged, looking back to Nicole, “Seems that Wynonna has decided she likes Doc at the moment,”

Nicole nodded, “And you aren’t a fan of his?”

“He’s the reason my sister is drunk at noon,” She retorted, a long sigh leaving her lips. “He’s the reason you’re shot,” She added in a whisper.

“Ain’t nobody’s fault I’m shot besides the man who shot me,” Nicole replied, “I love Doc like a brother, but I understand your hesitations. He’s a con man, through and through, but he loves your sister dearly. If you are worried about Wynonna, then talk to him. I think he’s a little scared of you, to be honest,”

Waverly chuckled, shaking her head, “He should be,”

“Really, though, get some rest. I’ll be fine for an hour or two,”

Waverly’s eyes were downcast as she shook her head, taking Nicole’s hand seemingly as a distraction. She played with Nicole’s fingers for a minute, her lips scrunching up as she gathered her thoughts, “I don’t exactly have a room,” She admitted quietly.

Nicole furrowed her brows. She didn’t know how big the house was, but surely, they had enough room. It wasn’t like any of them had many things. Hell Waverly had even less than the rest of them.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve, uh, I’ve sorta just been staying here,” Waverly shrugged, not meeting Nicole’s eyes.

“You’ve been staying here?”

Waverly nodded, but then tilted her head, “Well, technically, I’ve been staying in that chair,”

“Waverly!” Nicole admonished, “Jesus, no wonder you look so tired,”

“Thanks,” Waverly sighed.

“That’s not what I meant!” Nicole rushed, “You’re beautiful, I mean, you look fine, but you have to be tired. I’m sorry, I just. I reckoned you were staying downstairs with Wynonna or sharing a room with one of the girls,” Nicole stammered, damning herself and her big mouth.

“Hmm, Wynonna’s been staying with Doc since we got here. Anyway, it was easier to just stay in here when you were so sick,” Waverly brushed it off, the corner of her lips curling upwards. At Waverly’s revelation, Nicole realized the reason Dolls had been lingering for the past few days and regretted sending him away. Doc loved Wynonna dearly, but Dolls loved Wynonna much the same.

“Well, you could have stayed in the bed or something. Waverly, you can’t stay in a chair the whole time we’re here,”

“You’re just trying to get me into bed,” Waverly teased, a small smile on her face.

“I am.” Nicole agreed, “For you to sleep. I can sleep on the floor for a night, I’ll be fine,” She began to untangle herself from the quilt, the movement causing the pain to flare up in her arm. Waverly stopped her placing her hands over Nicole’s ribs, pushing her down and preventing her from moving. They stayed like that for a minute, the proximity between them making both of their cheeks flush. Nicole swallowed around a lump in her throat as she relented, releasing the quilt in her hands. Waverly seemed to snap out of it too, yanking her hands back as if they had been burned. Her cheeks were blazing as she fidgeted.

“You can’t sleep on the floor, Nicole. You’re still healing,”

“Fine, but you have to sleep. In a bed. Please, the bed is plenty big enough for two people,” Nicole’s voice quivered as the words left her mouth.

“You’re very bold today, do you have a fever?” Waverly reached out to feel Nicole’s forehead, only for Nicole to catch her hand. Nicole held the hand between the two of them, arching her brow at Waverly. “You’re very stubborn,”

“Consider it one of my flaws,” In reality, Nicole didn’t know why she was so hellbent on Waverly staying in the bed. She figured it was guilt. After all, Waverly had basically brought her back from the dead. Waverly pulled up her skirt to unlace her boots. No, Nicole realized. It wasn’t the guilt. It was because she was a damn fool.

Over the next few weeks, Nicole started to get back to her usual self. Waverly had hidden her tack, so leaving the camp was not an option, much to Nicole’s displeasure. She tried to make the best of it, doing as many chores as the others in camp allowed her to do and then spending the rest of the day fishing. She figured bringing in some extra food was the least she could do after being useless for the past four weeks, and the swamp around the house was plentiful with fish and crayfish.

Waverly continued to stay in Nicole’s room. Nicole tried to convince herself that it wasn’t a big deal, but the growing feelings for the girl were making Nicole feel guilty. She had insisted she sleep on the floor several times, Waverly always shutting it down quickly before climbing into bed. Perhaps, Nicole wouldn’t feel as bad if Waverly wasn’t so insistent on touching her. The woman would curl herself around Nicole, murmuring in her sleep as she burrowed her head further into Nicole’s good shoulder. It wasn’t a problem, Nicole convinced herself. Except she felt like she was taking advantage of Waverly, and that was a big problem.

“You catch anything useful yet?” Dolls called, as he jumped onto the raised deck Nicole fished off during the day. Dolls had seemed on edge since Nicole had woken up, the combination of Wynonna staying with Doc and the gang being stationed in the South making the man anxious. Nicole didn’t blame him.

“I’ve been catching shit for the past few days. You tellin’ me you don’t like catfish?”

Dolls chuckled, lighting a cigarette as he leaned against the dock’s rails, “Hate it, actually. Catfish are bottom feeders. They eat shit,”

“They don’t eat shit!” Nicole laughed, missing a fish as she did so.

“Maybe not, but they live where the shit is, and I don’t want to be eating shitty fish,” Dolls smiled, looking Nicole over before nodding. “I see Waverly is still staying in your room,”

“Don’t you start. I already got Chrissy on my back,”

Dolls raised his hand in surrender, the cigarette still hanging from his mouth, “I didn’t mean to start in on nothing,” He shrugged, “It was just an observation,”

“Your powers of observation don’t mean a thing,”

“Sure, they don’t,” He grinned. He finished the cigarette and threw it into the swamp, Nicole glaring at him as he did so. He sighed, finally looking fully at Nicole, “Doc is taking Bobo and a few others to a party the St. Denis’ mayor is having,”

“He’s taking Bobo, he must be desperate,” Nicole commented, stung at the thought Bobo was asked before her.

“I think he is,” Dolls admitted, his hands shooting into his pockets, “Taking Curtis and Robin along with him too,”

“Hmmm,”

“I don’t like it, Nicole. The mayor? Of a big city? What has gotten into Doc?”

“No, I know,” Nicole admitted, her fears from the last few weeks finally being spoken.

“We have to have each other’s backs,”

“Always,”

* * *

The mayor’s party had been fruitful, according to Doc. Nicole wasn’t too sure how Doc had even wound up with an invitation to such a party, but she had long since stopped asking how Doc managed to do half the things he did. Instead, she sat and listened to him rattle off the steps of his upcoming plan. Doc had met a man by the name of Ewan Allenbach, a wealthy friend of the mayor who was as shady as he was rich. He had his own group of men, all loyal to him and willing to put their lives on the line. He and Doc had struck up a conversation during the party, agreeing to help the other in each man’s personal endeavors. 

Curtis had garnered information while at the party. He had met with the chief of police, the two sharing stores of their time in the Navy. The chief’s stories were true, and Curtis’s were stolen from Shorty. Nevertheless, Curtis had managed to get a good idea of how the city bank was guarded and if it could be hit at all. He had reported his findings back to Doc, the two of them conspiring a plan of motion.

Nicole, for the most part, had been left out of the planning this time. She couldn’t help but be a little relieved at that. She never was much for planning things, least not robbing city banks and helping the local crooks. Instead, she spent her time doing chores and selling furs she’d gotten while hunting. She’d rob stagecoaches and houses to keep Gus off her back, but for the most part, she was free to do as she wished. In the mornings, her and Dolls would sit out on the docks and fish. He had been worried about the way things were going, the ideas Doc was spinning. He rarely shared how he felt about things, but in the last few days, he hadn’t been able to shut up about it. Nicole understood his worry; she could feel it in her very bones as well.

Then there was Waverly. Nicole wasn’t too sure why Waverly was so adamant about spending time with Nicole throughout the day. She’d bring coffee out to her and Dolls during the morning, and she’d eat lunch with Nicole whenever she was in camp. Every evening Waverly would nearly beg Nicole to come walk with her around the property. Well, maybe Waverly didn’t beg, but she asked very sweetly, and Nicole was too much of a fool to say no. It was when they were returning from one such walk when Gus stopped Nicole before entering the house. Waverly paused, but a quick glance from Gus had her leaving the two alone. Gus’s lips were drawn in a hard line, her brows raised as she handed over an envelope to Nicole.

“Who’s it from?” Nicole asked, even as she flipped it over to read it.

“That Shae girl, you were so fond of a few years back. Seems she wants a front row to the freak parade again,” Gus’s quiet rage was not lost to Nicole, and she winced at the words. Shae had been less than kind to the gang when Nicole had been infatuated with her. It seemed foolish now that the woman had sent a letter after nearly six years. Nicole nodded at Gus, sidestepping her to enter the house.

Waverly’s boots were already lined up neatly at the end of the bed when Nicole came up to the room. She was tucked into the bed, her back flush to the wall as she read some book Rosita had let her borrow. Nicole smiled at her, dropping the letter onto the table that was kept in the room. She moved quickly to yank her boots off, grunting with effort as the southern humidity had made it nearly impossible to remove the leather shoes. Waverly peeked over Nicole’s shoulder and glanced at the letter, humming as Nicole looked over at her.

“Who’s the letter from?” she asked, laying back against the bed.

“Oh, um,” Waverly just smiled softly as Nicole figured out her words. Somehow that made it worse when the words finally left her mouth, “An old, uh, friend of mine. Shae,”

“Hmm,” Waverly murmured, her eyes still on Nicole’s face, “A friend?”

“Yes, a friend,” Nicole insisted, moving to get into the bed as well. She took off her belt but refused to sleep in her union suit beside Waverly.

“You know the girls have had plenty to say about you, and all of your ‘friends,’”

Nicole sighed audibly. She was gonna have to start screening the girls before they were allowed to talk to Waverly because Jesus Christ couldn’t she get a little bit of mystery.

“A very close friend,” Nicole admitted, “She left a couple of years ago, married some rich bastard up North,”

“You miss her?”

“Not at all,” Nicole admitted, immediately. Waverly smiled at that shaking her head.

“What she want? If you don’t mind me asking,”

Nicole shook her head and shrugged, “Don’t know. Didn’t open the letter,”

“You really don’t miss her,” Waverly chuckled, the sound making Nicole’s chest expand.

“I really don’t,” She agreed.

* * *

Nicole had just thrown the last sack of feed by Shorty’s wagon when Doc called her up to his room. He was smoking on the front balcony, looking over the camp. Nicole hollered up at him, excusing herself from Shorty as she took the stairs into the house slowly. Doc was still standing by the rails when she reached him. Dolls sat with his feet propped up on the railing and his arms behind his head.

“Mr. Allenbach gave us a lead about the train car in St. Denis, said the station keeps all its money locked behind the gate until they take it to the bank on Friday,” Doc explained as Nicole stood beside him, glancing over at Dolls as the words came out confidently from Doc’s mouth.

“What makes you think we can trust him?” Nicole asked, flicking a match against her pants to light her own cigarette. Doc looked over at her. His face pinched in a way that made her shift under his gaze.

“Well, while you were out gallivanting with Miss Earp, I had some boys do a favor for Mr. Allenbach,” Nicole exhaled the smoke slowly, a prick forming in her eyebrow.

“It’s a good lead,” Doc continued, “And I want you to ride with me and Jeremy,”

“Why’re ya taking Jeremy again?” Dolls asked, leaning back enough to let his feet hit the ground again.

“Because boy’s been begging to come on another run. Figured this was a safe bet. Anyway, he might be a chicken shit, but he’s the best safecracker we have,”

“When do we leave,” Nicole asked, noticing a thin layer of sweat on Doc’s brow.

“Now,”

The ride into St. Denis wasn’t nearly as exciting as Jeremy was making it out to be. Nicole hadn’t spent much time around the young man, his preference for nervous conversation something she preferred to avoid. He was a good kid, though, perhaps more of a man than a kid, but Nicole could barely see him as anything else than the skinny teenager they had taken in a few years ago. Doc led them to a small alleyway, dismounting his horse without hitching him. Nicole and Jeremy followed suit, following the man through the grimy streets that led to the rail car station.

“Now, we go in here calmly and quickly, understand boys,” He said, his voice steady as they approached the station. “Jeremy, you keep the townsfolk inside quiet while Nicole handles the station clerk. If need be, she’ll get you to open the safe,”

Nicole and Jeremy nodded, Nicole, glancing back to make sure they weren’t being followed before Doc pulled up his black and white checkered mask. Nicole did the same as she and Jeremy filed in behind Doc, their guns raised. Jeremy ushered the townsfolk into the other side of the station while Doc aimed his gun between the station clerk’s eyes. Nicole made her way over to the gate, grabbing the clerk’s shirt collar and slamming him against it as Doc demanded he open the gate.

The clerk opened the gate quickly, Nicole spinning him around quickly and pressing the barrel of her gun to the back of her head. She pushed him towards the safe, demanding he open it. Nicole gritted her teeth as the man’s hands shook violently as he turned the dial. Doc was staring daggers at her as if it was her fault for not opening the safe fast enough. Finally, the safe door clicked, and Nicole pushed the clerk out of the way.

“There ain’t nothing here,” She called, turning her head to look at the station clerk.

“There has to be something in there, look again,”

“You think my eyes are gone. I’m looking!” Nicole urged, pulling out the drawer of the safe and shifting some of the shelves, “There’s just a few dollars here,”

“Nonsense,” Doc called, walking around the desk and coming to stand beside Nicole. He stared at the safe for a minute before swinging his gun towards the clerk, “Where’s the money, son?”

“T-that’s all there is. I swear. Boss takes the money to the bank every night,” The clerk spluttered, flinching as Doc cocked his gun.

“We’ve been set up, Doc,” Nicole argued again, taking the few dollars from the safe and pocketing it. “The best thing we can do is get out of here before the law shows up,”

“Um, I think it’s too late for that,” Jeremy’s voice wavered, pointing towards the street where a line of lawmen were.

“Shit,” Nicole murmured, “C’mon,” She ordered, pushing Doc towards the back door as Jeremey was hot on their heels. Shots rang out the moment they were outside, Nicole and Doc already pulling at their weapons and firing back.

“Shit, keep shooting. I’m gonna find a way out of this,” Doc yelled, firing off a round between a lawman’s eyes. Nicole covered him, taking out two lawmen as they approached. Jeremy was useless with a gun, firing near the heads of enough lawmen to at least slow them down before Nicole or Doc could take them out for good.

“The streetcar,” Doc called, already running towards the slow-moving machine. Jeremey followed close behind, leaving Nicole at the tail end still shooting. Doc leaped onto the car, pulling the driver out of his seat and throwing him onto the street. He grabbed Jeremey’s hand, pulling him into the car with him. Nicole cursed to herself as she fired another round at a lawman, missing him by a good thirty feet before leaping for the door of the car. She gripped onto the side handle, her feet dragging for a minute before Doc grabbed the back of her suspenders and pulled her into the car.

“Shoot,” Doc ordered, “Nicole right side, Jeremy left,”

Nicole hung out of the car, firing off shots as lawmen on horseback followed closely. Snipers aimed from the rooftops, a bullet taking out the window beside Nicole. Doc took out three men on horseback while Nicole handled the snipers.

“Stop the car, Haught. We can make a run for the swamp here,” Doc ordered, Nicole quickly moved out of the window and crouching her way towards the driver’s seat. The lever that controlled the car was broken, moving easily without turning the wheels. Nicole flipped the thing back and forth a few times before admitting defeat.

“Thing’s broke. We’re gonna have to jump,”

“Goddammit to hell,” Doc cursed, firing off six aggressive rounds before grabbing onto Jeremey’s shirt and pushing him towards the door. “You two jump first, I’ll hold them off,”

Nicole stood at the door of the car, staring at the slow-moving ground before jumping out of the car. She rolled onto her good shoulder and scrambled for cover. Jeremey followed soon after, hitting the ground with a grunt. Nicole stationed herself behind an abandoned wagon, firing off rounds as lawmen rounded the corners of buildings. Doc landed beside her, grunting as his ankle gave way, and he banged his head on the wagon.

Jeremy supported Doc as the leader of the gang stood, his gun hanging limply in his hand as he fired a few rounds. Jeremy helped Doc into the wagon as Nicole climbed into the back. Jeremey slapped the reins harshly against the horses’ backs, the nervous animals not needing much encouragement to get away from the gunfire. Nicole shot a few more lawmen as the wagon veered off into the muggy swampland, the evening haze making the lawmen hard to see. Finally, the shots died down and Jeremy slowed the horses. Nicole reckoned they were closer to Annesburg than Lemoyne by then, but she didn’t want to hurt Doc’s already deflated ego.

“I can’t believe it was a setup,” Jeremy remarked, putting the wagon in park as he turned to Doc.

“I can’t either, son, but one thing is for certain. Mr. Allenbach will pay for this,” He groaned as he held his head, the slight sheen of sweat from earlier now nearly dripping down his face.

“Your head okay?” Nicole questioned, handing out the few dollars each of them got from the hit.

“I hate to say no, it’s not,”

“Just a bad bump on the head, get Gus to look at ya when you get back to camp,” Nicole reassured, handing Doc his money.

“Yes,” Doc sighed, “Jeremy, take me to camp. I need to lie down for a while. Nicole, once things have cooled down go into town and find out where Mr. Allenbach speeds most of his time. We’re gonna have a talk with him,”

“Course,” Nicole agreed, waving as Jeremy pulled the wagon out of the swamp and back onto the road. Nicole whistled for her horse, the gulping sounds of his feet pulling against the wet mud, making her uneasy. All that work for fourteen damn dollars.


	6. The Mud and The Blood and The Gators

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning, this chapter is pretty violent. If you don't like reading that sort of thing I'd suggest skipping this chapter.

Nicole did eventually read the letter from Shae. Nicole might not have had feelings for Shae anymore, but that didn’t mean Nicole was the type of person to ignore her completely. The letter was short and explained that Shae was with her father in St. Denis on a business trip and would like to see Nicole before they left for home. Nicole debated with herself if she should even go see the woman. The bounties for the rail car robbery had been paid, but it was still recent. Then there was the added stress of Waverly.

“You wouldn’t have this problem if you just admitted you were in love with the girl,” Chrissy sighed, dunking a pair of pants into the soapy water.

“I ain’t in love with her,” Nicole grumbled, taking the freshly washed pants from Chrissy, wringing them out, and then hanging them on the line. It was one of Gus’s rules, you can talk, but you work as you talk. Nicole felt bad being the one talking and not working, so whenever she did have to speak with one of the girls while they worked, she helped the best she could.

“Of course, you’re not. After all, you’re just sharing a room,”

“You share a room with Kate,”

“Yes, and we take walks during the evening and eat every meal together. And you know what, she gives me those big pleading eyes you give Waverly,”

“Give me the damn shirt,” Nicole growled, yanking the washed shirt from Chrissy’s hands. Crissy grinned, shaking her head as she started washing another shirt.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Chrissy said, softer this time, “I think if you’re honest with Waverly, about your feelings for her. She might be a little less bothered about you going to see Shae in the city,”

“I can’t drag her into all this shit,” Nicole shook her head, “Waverly’s already been through a lot. She don’t need me messing her life up anymore,”

Chrissy shook her head, “I know you, Nicole. Grew up with you, and as much as you liked to torture me when we were younger, there ain’t a bad bone in your body,”

“I think the line of men I’ve killed would have to argue with you on that,” Nicole sighed, wringing out the last shirt and hanging it up before going into the house.

Nicole softly cursed as she flipped the puff tie the right way before she began tying it again. She wasn’t getting dressed up for Shae. She really wasn’t. She just knew that Shae would be dressed in pleats and gold, and anyone who saw them together would suspect Nicole was mugging her. Nicole could feel Waverly’s eyes on her as the other woman sat by the open balcony reading. Nicole glanced over to her, Waverly’s lips in a firm line as she jerked her head away from Nicole.

“You know how to tie one of these?” Nicole asked, hoping her voice didn’t sound as agitated as she was. Waverly turned to look at her, her eyes moving slowly up Nicole’s body before landing on her face. She nodded, moving to stand in front of Nicole.

“You sure it’s safe to go back to St. Denis so soon after the robbery?” Waverly asked, her thin fingers brushing underneath Nicole’s shirt collar as she began to tie the tie.

“Curtis paid the bounties already, anyway, the price on me was low,” Waverly hummed, her fingers brushing against Nicole’s neck innocently.

“I was engaged once,” Waverly admitted, running a hand down the newly finished tie, “Helped him pick out a tie that looked a lot like this,”

“I didn’t know that,”

Waverly hummed, wrapping her arms around herself, “His name was Hardy. Hardy James, but everyone in town called him Champ. I wasn’t very fond of him. He was too loud…too proud, but he was better than staying with Daddy. Then, of course, he died. Fell into the river during winter, caught pneumonia. After that, I reckon Daddy realized he needed someone to take care of him. He didn’t allow me to meet any more gentleman callers,”

“I’m sorry, Waverly,”

“Don’t be. It’s what I love about running with y’all. You just do whatever you want, I mean look at you, dressing up to see some woman from your past,”

Nicole shook her head, grabbing Waverly’s arm as the other woman tried to spin away from Nicole. Nicole took a step closer to Waverly; their bodies nearly pressed together in the small space.

“I don’t have feelings for Shae, those left the day she did. This might as well be a business meeting,” Nicole reassured.

“I’m sure,” Waverly snipped.

Nicole stepped even closer to Waverly, close enough where she could feel Waverly’s breath on her cheek as she spoke, “I’m serious, Waverly. She just wants to see me,”

Waverly’s breathing had picked up, a blush covering her cheeks as she nodded mutely, glancing down at Nicole’s lips every few seconds. Nicole nodded, stepping back from Waverly and grabbing her hat. “I’ll be back soon,” Nicole sighed, her own face flushed as she left the bedroom.

Shae was renting a room out in the prestigious northern part of the city, the hotel surrounded by storefronts, restaurants, and architectural churches. More than a few people glanced at Nicole as she passed, but no one said anything. For that, Nicole was thankful. Shae had only told her the name of the hotel, not a room number, so Nicole was stumped as to how Shae expected Nicole to find her. Except, Nicole didn’t have to wonder for long as a familiar voice called her name from the hotel’s small courtyard. The courtyard was between the hotel and the building next to it, a massive fountain in the middle of it with chairs and tables scattered around and exotic plants framing the fence. Nicole ducked under the archway, squinting in the direction the voice came. Shae sat under a tree with large flat leaves, a decorative fan in her hands as she chased away the Southern heat. Once Nicole spotted her, Shae stood and made her way over to Nicole.

“I’m so glad you came,” She said, wrapping her arms around Nicole’s neck. Nicole hugged her back, albeit slowly. Shae smiled at her, patting her shoulder as she motioned for Nicole to follow her. Nicole did, and the two sat at the table Shae had been occupying before Nicole arrived. Silence fell over the two of them as they just stared at each other. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence, Nicole noted, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable either.

“Since you got my letter, I’m assuming you’re still running with those boys?” Shae asked, picking up her fan from the table.

“Doc and Dolls, yeah,” Nicole agreed, sitting further back in her chair.

“I ran into some of the girls, told Eliza where I was staying so she could give you the letter I wrote,”

“Hmm, I’m sure Eliza loved playing your messaging girl,” Nicole smiled, “What’s your daddy doing in St. Denis anyway? Ain’t enough money up north?”

“Daddy’s says there’s never enough money,” Shae smiled, “He’s talking to the mayor about expanding to a bank down here though,”

“St. Denis already has a bank,”

“With you and your crew in town, they probably won’t for much longer,”

Nicole had to agree with her on that. The fact that they were planning on robbing the St. Denis bank was every bit as ironic as Nicole and Shae’s relationship had been.

“What do you need, Shae? I know you didn’t call for me just to talk about your daddy’s business plan,”

Shae stared at Nicole openly for a few minutes, those dark brown eyes almost curious as they skirted around Nicole’s face. Nicole would normally feel nervous under such an intense stare, but this was Shae. Shae, who was married long ago. Shae, who had always hated her family.

“I just wanted to see how you were doing, I suppose,” Shae admitted, “You never replied to any of my letters after we parted ways,”

“Paper’s expensive,” Nicole explained.

“Yet, you carry a journal full of it,” Nicole sighed as Shae smiled. Shae loved proving herself right. “Don’t take offense. I didn’t take any when you didn’t reply. I understood it really,”

“I’m sure you did,” Nicole gruffed, “How is the husband anyway?”

“Dead, I’m afraid,”

Nicole jerked her head up to look at Shae, the woman’s composure calm and sure of herself as she always was.

“I’m sorry,” Nicole said sincerely.

“I know you didn’t mean nothing by it,” Shae waved her off, “Anyway, he’s been dead for a few years now. I sent a letter but”

“I didn’t read it,”

“Exactly,” After another pause before Shae piped up, “And you’re right, I do need a favor, well Daddy needs a favor,”

“He never did like me much,” Nicole reminded her, shaking her head. Shae nodded empathetically, but Nicole knew she would never really understand. Shae never really did, and it made Nicole wonder why she stayed with the woman for so long.

“He never liked anyone very much, so I wouldn’t worry about it,”

Nicole nodded, remembering how angry the man had gotten when she stood on the front door of their house. He had called his patrol on her. He’d wanted her shot right there. It was funny looking back on it, an outlaw on the steps of a bank tycoon’s front door. Shae had managed to calm him down enough to allow Nicole inside their home, only further infuriating the man. Nicole was too old for that now, she realized, thinking back on the situation. That type of thing wouldn’t bring the same thrill that it had at the time. It would have just been an annoyance.

“It’s just a small favor,” Shae admitted, shaking her head at Nicole’s glare, “It’s out of my hands, but I figured, well, I figured you could handle it. Daddy needs every vote he can get in this town, and this town well, some of them don’t like him very much,”

“I wonder why,” Nicole sneered.

“I need you to have a talk with one of the men, Mr. Ewan Allenbach,”

Nicole scoffed again, staring up at the sky. 

“Do you know him?” Shae asked.

“Oh, I know of him. I’m gonna be real honest with you, Shae, I don’t think I need to do anything to that man,”

“I know he’s powerful, and I know,”

Nicole cut her off, “Shae, I don’t need to do anything to that man. Your father will get his way like he always does,” Understanding seemed to dawn on Shae as she smiled shyly at Nicole.

“Thank you, Nicole,”

“Although, I would like to know where he lives,” Shae scribbled down his address on a torn piece of paper, handing it over to Nicole. Nicole nodded towards Shae as she stood to leave, tucking the piece of paper into her front pocket. 

“It was good to see you, Shae,” Nicole sighed.

“Good to see you too, Nicole, and thank you,”

“Ain’t even an extra job,” Nicole shrugged, moving towards the courtyard’s gate.

“Oh, and Nicole,” Shae called. Nicole turned back to face Shae, a single brow raised in question, “Liza told me ‘bout that new woman that’s got you wrapped around her finger,” Nicole could feel her cheeks flush, and she clenched her jaw as she stared at Shae, “You don’t let her treat you wrong, okay?” Nicole let out a slow breath, shaking her head as she nodded toward Shae waving as she went. She really needed those girls to shut the hell up.

* * *

Nicole gave Doc the address when she returned to camp. His face was still paler than usual, but he seemed happy to get what he wanted to soon. He clapped a hand over Nicole’s good shoulder, bringing her in close as he claimed victory over Ewan Allenbach and all of the other shady businessmen in the area. Nicole figured he was drunk with the way he was acting and quickly excused herself as she made her way up the stairs. Waverly was already tucked into bed, only the top of her head peeking out of the covers despite the heat. Nicole yanked her boots off and changed into her usual clothes before crawling into bed beside Waverly. She tried not to notice the space Waverly left between them. 

After that, it was awkward between the two of them. Waverly was keeping her distance from Nicole, and it stung. She no longer brought coffee to her in the morning or ate lunch with her. She rarely even asked Nicole to accompany her on walks. Somehow, despite the heat and the gators and the fog, that was what Nicole missed the most. Dolls noticed Nicole could tell by the way he kept checking his pocket watch in the mornings. Waverly was never tardy, and after the third day, Dolls stopped looking at his watch so much.

Waverly still stayed in Nicole’s room. Nicole reckoned it was just because she didn’t have any other place to go. It wasn’t like the house was filled with people willing to share a room with Waverly. Well, there was, but Waverly was too nice to ask for extra accommodations, especially with Wynonna still pairing off with Doc for the moment. The situation equal parts irritated and embarrassed Nicole. Despite her years as an outlaw, she wasn’t good with conflict. She wasn’t good with people being angry at her. At least, she hoped Waverly was angry at her. Anger Nicole could live with, but indifference would kill her.

Doc was planning as always, making connections with some man out in the swamp who had a boat. Doc claimed the man was on his side, a poor fisherman or the like wanting to end Ewan Allenbach’s career of milking the poor. Nicole just hoped that this time Doc had his senses about him and was trusting men that were at least somewhat trustworthy. He had left a few days prior, staying with the fisherman’s family and preparing a plan with them as the best time to go. He ordered the rest of the men on the mission to meet him there next Monday, which left Nicole with plenty of time to worry where she stood with Waverly.

“Wynonna,” Nicole greeted, grunting as she lifted the haybale and made her way through camp and towards the horses. Wynonna followed after her, not saying a word until they were away from the bustle of camp.

“Haught, you’re mighty peachy with my sister, what’s her deal?”

“Hmm?” Nicole sighed, dropping the haybale for the horses.

“What’s the deal with my sister? She looks like a kid who just had their candy stolen from them,”

“And you think I know why?”

“Well, she’s been mighty cozy with you since we got here,” Wynonna sneered.

Nicole sighed, “I don’t know, Wynonna. She ain’t been talking to me much,”

“Really?”

“Really,”

“Huh,” Wynonna hummed, staring at Nicole for a minute, “Interesting,”

“Very,” Nicole commented, moving to dodge Wynonna and any more of her questions.

“Haught,” Wynonna called, “My sister, Earps in general, we’re stubborn,”

Nicole nodded but didn’t say anything. She had chores to do.

Nicole had hoped that Wynonna would be right about Waverly just being stubborn, but by the end of the week, Waverly still wasn’t speaking to her much. Nicole guessed that Wynonna was right in a way, Waverly was stubbornly ignoring her at every turn. She would go to bed at dusk and be up and out of the room before dawn, leaving little to no time for Nicole to talk to her. It was infuriating and hurtful, and Nicole was tired of waiting on Waverly to talk to her again, but she refused to push Waverly. That wasn’t who Nicole was, and she refused to let her emotions push away Waverly even more.

Instead, Nicole mounted up and went to meet up with Doc a day early. Doc was, unsurprisingly, suspicious as to why Nicole had arrived so early, but he didn’t comment on it. It gave him a chance to put Nicole to work instead, which he gladly did. He had her work the docks with the fisherman’s son, the boy no older than fifteen who could throw the hundred- and fifty-pound ropes with ease. He had a large gap between his front teeth and was a bit of a show-off with the ropes, but he thankfully never mocked Nicole when she struggled with the ropes. The fisherman was kind too, a similar gap between his own front teeth and a torn lip. He hated Allenbach almost as much as Doc, and the two ranted about him for hours as they smoked after supper. It was a nice break from camp, but Nicole still couldn’t shake the thought of Waverly ignoring her. It still hurt, even all the way out there in the swamp.

Dolls and the rest of the men arrived at noon the next day, the fisherman insisting that he feed them before discussing plans. It led them to leave at dusk, the fog laying over the water, making it near impossible for Nicole to see past the nose of the boat. The fisherman seemed confident as he maneuvered the boat around down trees and mud bogs. Robin excitedly pointed out the gators that started to pop up more frequently as night fell, much to Jeremy’s displeasure.

They slowly drifted towards land, the fisherman leaping out of the boat and pulling it to shore. Doc thanked the man again, pushing the boat from the shore as the fisherman wished them good luck. Ewan Allenbach’s house was huge, bigger than Nicole had ever seen, and well-guarded. Doc climbed over the brick wall that protected the mansion, the others following soon after. Nicole and Dolls took the left side of the mansion, two armed guards sharing a cigarette beside the mansion’s water fountain. Dolls nodded toward, Nicole giving her the signal to start. Nicole fired quickly, the two guards dropping fast enough the cigarette hung in the air between them before dropping. It opened an all-out firefight, with guards pouring out of the house. There were plenty of places to find cover, the yard covered in decorative stone statues. Doc yelled out his commands as the gang fired back at the guards, Nicole aiming at the snipers on the second-floor balcony.

“Allenbach!” Doc yelled, his voice raspy from the volume, “We are not the men to set up for failure!” The gang moved up, the guards falling before they could even get to the steps at this point. The mansion might have been well-guarded, but the gang had more experience in gunfights. Nicole felt bad for some of the guards, their young faces filled with panic as they fired off rounds feet above her head. Doc shot at one such man, his body going limp immediately as the sound of the shot reverberated off the stone walls.

“Move up!” Dolls yelled, taking the lead and climbing the mansion’s stairs. Nicole followed behind him, refusing to leave Dolls uncovered as she shot at guards who rounded the corner.

“Open that door!” Doc yelled, a few feet behind Dolls and Nicole. Nicole took out her pistol, shooting holes between the double doors and hoping she hit the locking system. Dolls gently pushed her to the side, kicking at the door violently the wood splitting with a sickly sound. The doors flung open, both doors smacking against the walls behind them as Nicole shot at the two men waiting in ambush behind stacked furniture in the mansion. The gang flooded the foyer, their guns raised for any movement towards them. “Check the rooms,” Doc ordered, “Nicole, Dolls, upstairs. Jeremy, Robin, downstairs. Bobo keep watch,”

Nicole ran up the stairs, shooting at the few guards that were left before she burst into a decorative bedroom. A shot fired above her bad shoulder, her wincing at the memory as she fired a similar shot that landed between the lone guard’s eyes. A tall man stood behind the guard; his blond hair swept perfectly back. He pulled a gun, and a shot rang out only for the man to clutch his hand as blood flowed from his fingers. Dolls stood behind Nicole, his pistol still smoking as he motioned for her to grab the man. Nicole took a step towards the man, dodging an uncoordinated hit and landing one of her own to the man’s temple. Nicole helped Dolls hogtie him, the smell of whiskey on the man undeniable as Nicole rummaged through the man’s pockets. Dolls chuckled at her, lifting the man effortlessly and throwing him over his shoulder.

Dolls and Nicole meet Doc downstairs, the gang leader covering them as they made a break for the mansion’s docks. A skiff tied to the dock was the gang’s escape plan, and Dolls threw the man into the boat. The rest of the gang followed suit, the small boat bobbing violently in the water as they dropped themselves into the center of the boat. Nicole untangled the rope from the dock, pushing the skiff off and diving into the boat as well. Bobo rowed them away from the dock, bullets hitting all around them, causing little explosions in the water. Nicole and Doc kept their pistols aimed at the shore as they moved farther into the swamp.

Bobo finally stopped rowing, the small boat drifting as it slowed to a stop. The smell of gun smoke was now replaced with the thick smell of mud and stale water that always covered the swamp. Doc moved towards the tied man, lifting him by the shirt and slamming him against the side of the boat. The boat swayed violently at the motion, water cresting over the edge and ending up unpleasantly inside Nicole’s boot. The man didn’t move, though, and Nicole could tell the situation was irritating Doc more than usual. Dolls pulled out some smelling salts, handing them over to Doc, who in one fluid movement shoved them under the man’s nose. 

“Nice to see you again, Ewan,” Doc sneered as the man’s eyes opened, “I’m afraid you owe us an apology,”

Ewan groaned, shutting his eyes slowly as if the gang had not just kidnapped him. Doc shook him a bit more, a near growl in his throat as his hand moved to wrap around Ewan’s throat.

“You are pathetic,” Ewan finally sighed out, “Attacking a man at his home, for what? For you foolishly trusting me? To think you’re on the same level as me? You’re a bunch of drowned cowboys,”

Doc did growl then, leaning closer to Ewan’s face, “We’re the drowned cowboys who took out all your men. We’re the drown cowboys that have you tied for us to do as we wish,”

Ewan rolled his eyes, “The hounds are already on you now, the best bloodhounds that money can buy. Because I have money,”

“Let’s hope they find you then,” Doc spat, grabbing the man by his hair and shoving him into the muddy water below.

“Doc,” Dolls called, the gurgling sounds of Ewan struggling to breathe filling the boat. Doc grunted in Dolls’ direction, pushing Ewan’s head deeper into the water, Doc’s body nearly shaking with anger.

“Send the dogs, Allenbach. Send them!” Doc yelled, releasing Ewan’s hair and stumbling away from the side of the boat. He sighed as if he had just thrown bales before he grabbed Ewan Allenbach’s legs and pushed him over the side of the skiff. “Bobo, let’s get out of here,” Doc nearly whispered, watching at the gators began to trail through the water. The men were silent on the way back to shore, the oar paddling through the water the only sound between them.

Nicole returned to camp the next morning, the rest of the men had already gone home the other night. The camp was covered in a thin layer of fog, giving a creepy air to the dilapidated house. Shorty waved at Nicole from the chuckwagon but didn’t try to talk to her. She wondered briefly if the other men had mentioned what happened with Doc. The vacant stare in his eyes as Bobo paddled back to shore, still haunting Nicole’s memory.

Nicole hurried up the stairs, the need to change out of the clothes covered in swamp muck the only thing on her mind. That was until she opened the door, and Waverly stared up at her. She was sitting in the chair like she had been the weeks Nicole was hurt, her hand tucked under her chin as an unread book sat in her lap. They stared at one another, the silence in the room as thick as the fog outside. Then it was like the strike of a match, Waverly launched herself at Nicole, wrapping her arms around the taller woman’s neck. Nicole hugged her back, the sigh of relief that left Waverly’s body not lost on Nicole.

“My clothes are filthy,” Nicole mumbled, not letting go of Waverly despite her words.

“Doesn’t matter,” Waverly sighed, squeezing Nicole tighter again before letting go and stepping back, her fingers twisting around the bottom of Nicole’s shirtsleeve, “I didn’t know where you went,”

“Sorry. Didn’t think you mind me leaving,”

“Of course, I do,” Waverly shook her head, still clutching to the bottom of Nicole’s shirt sleeves.

“I’m sorry, Waverly, for whatever I did to anger you so much. I didn’t intend to at all. If you’d like me to move downstairs, I will. I know I can be a pain to live around,”

“You stupid, outlaw,” Waverly shook her head, “I have no intention on kicking you out,”

“Oh,” Nicole hummed.

“Oh,” Waverly teased, smiling up at Nicole.

“I am sorry,” Nicole repeated herself, still nervous despite Waverly’s words.

“I’m sorry too. I don’t want you going anywhere,”

“Yes ma’am,” Nicole smiled, ducking her head and staring down at her muddy clothes.

“You’re right, though, your clothes are filthy. Change and get into bed. I can tell you need some sleep,”

“Course,” Nicole agreed, watching as Waverly walked into the hall. She could still see Doc’s haunting eyes from the night before, but the hope in Waverly’s far outweighed anything she had ever seen.

* * *

After a good night’s rest, and heavy conversation about Nicole’s rambler ways, everything between Nicole and Waverly went back to the way things were before Shae. Well, maybe not to the way they were before, but in Nicole’s book, that was better. Waverly started bringing coffee out to Nicole and Dolls again, and they would go on walks in the evening, but now Waverly’s fingers lingered when she handed Nicole her cup, and she walked a little closer when they were out on the trail. She clung to Nicole in her sleep, her face shifting from one emotion to the other as she dreamed. Nicole tried not to watch her sleep too much, but the swamp was hot, and the added body heat didn’t help Nicole’s insomnia any.

Things were looking up for the gang as well. With the camp funds going up and the chuck wagon being full thanks to Dolls and Nicole’s efforts, the gang didn’t have to worry about much. Doc still did though, figuring how much money they needed to relocate to Tahiti of all places. ‘Course, Doc didn’t know much about Tahiti. He’d ramble on and on about his plan to anyone who listened, and when the lanterns turned out, Waverly would tell Nicole all the ways Doc was wrong about the island. It never ceased to amaze Nicole just how smart Waverly was, much smarter than anyone gave her credit for that was for sure.

Yes, things were looking up; life was good.

“Nicole,” Doc called, waving her over to the dynamite packed wagon. Nicole jogged over, the back flap of the suit she wore nearly hitting her knees as she did so, “Have you talked to Wynonna?”

Nicole rolled her lips in on themselves, chancing a look at the woman saddling up her horse, “I have,”

“You’ve told her how stupid, how irresponsible,”

“Doc,” Nicole interrupted despite her better interest, “She’s stubborn as a mule. It don’t matter what I say she’s going on this run,”

Doc hummed, turning around himself and starting at the mother of his child, “I don’t know why she has to prove herself all the damn time,”

They were loading up to hit the city bank in St. Denis. Wynonna had stubbornly decided to come along even though Doc was co-operating the mission. Once Alice was born it had been an unspoken rule, Doc and Wynonna were to never be on the same job, that is until now. Wynonna had argued that they needed her, and granted they did. Curtis and Robin were going to ride the wagon into town and cause a distraction, While Doc, Dolls, Jeremy, Bobo, Eliza, and Nicole took on the bank. Except, Jeremy couldn’t shoot, and Wynonna, despite her many flaws, could outshoot most of them on a bad day. Doc hadn’t agreed to let Wynonna come with them, but Wynonna was going no matter what he said, and that was obvious.

“Nothing to worry about, Doc. With my distraction, you’ll have plenty of time to get in and get out,” Curtis chuckled, slapping Doc on the shoulder the only way an older man could. Doc coughed a bit and nodded, sending a weak smile at Curtis.

“I hope so, Mr. McCready. I hope so!”

Doc marched off, going to get dressed into his suit, he mumbled, leaving Curtis and Nicole alone. Curtis shook his head at Doc’s retreating figure, “Young man’s always in a hurry. You best keep his head on straight,”

“Yes sir,” Nicole nodded, taking a moment to watch Doc disappear into the house.

“You might want to pay attention to your girl over there too,” Curtis smiled, pointing out to behind Nicole. Nicole turned, Waverly standing shyly behind them a few yards with her hands folded against her skirt.

“She ain’t my girl,” Nicole protested, only for Curtis to grin wider before he too left her alone. Nicole sighed, shaking her head slightly as she turned on her heel to meet Waverly.

“You look fancy,” Waverly commented, running a hand down the lapels of Nicole’s suit. Nicole steadied herself, the soft-touch throwing her off balance more than any gun ever had.

“Feel like a clown,”

Waverly giggled, shaking her head as she looked up at Nicole, “No, I don’t see a big red nose,”

“Thank God for that. I already get enough shit for my hair,”

“Hmm, I’m sure you’d find a way to make that handsome too,”

Nicole could feel her face heating up and shifted her feet uneasily. She glanced behind them, the men going on the run ready and waiting.

“You feel good about this hit?” Waverly asked, reaching a hand out and laying it onto Nicole’s.

“We’re hitting a bank in the middle of the city, ain’t much to feel good about,” Nicole admitted. Waverly sighed, nodding mutely as she looked back at her sister. Nicole caught her line of sight, “I’ll watch out for her, the best I can at least,” Nicole reassured, smiling as Waverly turned those big hazel eyes to her.

“Protect yourself too? Be careful?”

“Of course,” Nicole agreed, nodding her head despite knowing that if they did run into any trouble, there was little she could do.

“Roundup, boys! We got a bank to rob!” Doc yelled, the double doors of the house opening with a bang. The men cheered as he approached, the nervous but excited energy filling the camp as they began to mount their horses.

“I’ve got to go,” Nicole sighed, already pulling away from Waverly despite the vice-like grip the woman had on her hand.

“Be safe,” Waverly whispered, leaning up to kiss Nicole’s cheek. Nicole stood still for a moment, the spot on her cheek hot as it would have been had Waverly slapped her. Finally, Nicole came back to her senses, giving Waverly a tight-lipped smile and squeezing her hand before moving towards her horse. King shifted under her feet, the excitement palpable in the air. Wynonna side-eyed Nicole as Doc made his way to his horse.

“Gentleman,” Doc called, “Let’s ride!”

They slowed the horses to a trot as they entered the city limits, Curtis and Robin having split from the group a few minutes prior. They were going deep into the city to cause a distraction large enough to get every lawman within a twenty-mile radius running towards it. Doc led them through the city, the freshly clean suit he wore nearly shining in the sun. Dolls and Nicole rode behind him, side by side. Dolls cut his eyes over to Nicole now and again, seemingly making sure she was okay as the horses’ hooves made a satisfying sound against the cobblestone roads. Nicole knew he had seen her and Waverly. She knew Wynonna had too. Despite the excitement of whatever was forming between her and Waverly, Nicole was aware of how scary Wynonna could be. It almost outweighed that excitement. Almost.

They dismounted a few blocks from the bank, strolling down the street as inconspicuously as they could. Doc held them up at the front of the bank, lighting a cigar and encouraging the others to do the same. They were trying to blend in, to look like wealthy men and women about to deposit even more money. Perhaps they were celebrating a fundraising attempt, or maybe the grand opening of another branch of their business. Nicole could only guess what the people walking down the street thought.

Finally, the ground shook with power only dynamite provided, a loud bang in the distance, gaining the attention of the surrounding lawmen. Doc watched with a grin on his face as the lawmen began running to the source of the sound. He threw his cigar down, motioning for the rest of them to follow. They moved through the bank effortlessly, Nicole holding up customers of the bank while Dolls handled the man in charge of the safes. She could hear Doc threatening the bank teller, and ordering Jeremy to break the locks. Nicole pocketed a few broches as the bank goers threw their valuables at the masked men. She could hear Doc chuckling as Jeremey broke the safes, the sound of money and valuables being scraped from the safe and into the leather bags audible only to Nicole’s ears. This was gonna be a good hit. This was gonna be it for them.

“Doc,” Eliza yelled, her voice shaky. Eliza’s voice was never shaky. Nicole turned at the same time as Doc did, both of them locking eyes with the armed men outside.

“Dammit,” Doc cursed, stalking over to the window. Nicole followed, taking cover behind the window’s left wall while Doc took shelter on the right.

“Doc Holliday!” A thin man with the unmistakable dress of a Pinkerton yelled, “My name is Agent Tucker Gardener. I am with the Pinkerton Detective agency. I’m sure I’m familiar with you and your boys,” As the words left his mouth, he pulled Curtis from the wagon, keeping a bead on him as he moved. “I am asking for you to come out here and chat with my fine men. No harm will befall you or any of the lawbreakers you have in there,”

“Goddammit,” Doc swore, leaning his head out slightly to yell back, “No, but harm will befall you and your men if you keep that weapon pointed at my friend there,”

“Oh, Mr. Holliday. This is no time for negotiations. You come out here, and everything will be fine,”

“This is America, Agent Gardener. There is always time to negotiate,”

“Mr. Holliday, I wanted to do this the easy way, but since you insisted,” He pushed Curtis forward, firing his gun quickly and sending a bullet straight through Curtis’s chest.

“Curtis!” Nicole could hear herself yelling, watching as his body hit the ground. Doc cursed beside her, the sound of breaking glass clear in her ears as Doc screamed out the window, firing his guns in all directions at Gardener’s men. Nicole soon followed, her gun smoking and clicking before she was even aware she had begun to fire. She reloaded, slinging her hand out farther and shooting as the Pinkertons fired back. It was a blur of gun and fire, the sounds of bullets ricocheting off the buildings and whizzing past her head falling on deaf ears. Doc ordered Dolls to do something, another explosion almost knocking her to her feet before Wynonna steadied her. Doc pushed Nicole towards a hole in the wall that hadn’t been there before, Wynonna already climbing through it. Nicole followed Wynonna on instinct, the image of Curtis falling to the ground replaying in her head over and over.

They climbed onto the roof, Doc hot on their heels as they made their way down to wear the rest of the gang were. Dolls hovered over Eliza’s body, a bullet wound in her chest still bleeding.

“They shot her,” Dolls sighed, his voice cracking in a way Nicole had only heard a few times. The bodies of the agents responsible a few feet away riddled with bullet wounds.

“There is nothing we can do about it now, Dolls,” Doc called, tugging on the other man’s suit. Dolls finally released Eliza, his hands covered in blood as they followed Doc over the rooftops of shops and homes. They continued until Doc spotted the city docks, the hustle and bustle of them in full swing below them.

“Stay low,” he ordered, crouching down behind a chimney, “I have a plan. We have to wait,”

It was well into the night when Doc kicked Nicole’s boot until she woke, startling slightly, not knowing where she was. Doc clapped a hand over her mouth, shushing her as he motioned to join the others crowded together by the edge of the roof. Nicole limped over towards them, an injury that happened during the fight flaring up now that adrenaline wasn’t pumping through her veins.

Doc led them down the building’s access ladder and towards the city docks, dodging patrols and dock hands alike. Nicole figured they would get on a boat, let it take them wherever it was going, and then pay for a ride back. She didn’t expect to have to dodge so many guards. Doc crouched behind one building, aggressively ordering them to stop. Two guards were around the corner of the building. Dolls offered to distract them, handing off the leather satchel he had been carrying to Nicole. Dolls snuck towards the water, whistling loudly to gain the guards’ attention before ducking behind some crates and making his way back to the gang. Doc chuckled at him, a firm grin on his face as he motioned for the rest to follow him. They dodged another patrol, squatting behind transport crates as Doc stared dejectedly at three men guarding the boat.

“What are we gonna do, Boss?” Bobo asked, his voice nearly sneering.

“I’m thinking. I’m thinking,” Doc pressed, his mustache twitching as he stared at the men. Nicole fingered at the throwing knives in her jacket. A precaution she took when Curtis had told them there might be guards inside the bank too. Curtis. Goddamn this was a mess. Nicole glanced back at Doc, her eyes not wavering as she gained his attention.

“I’ve got this, but you have to move fast,”

Doc stared at her for a minute, but Nicole didn’t give him time to protest as she stood to her full height and walked out into the open. The men stopped their talking and stared her down, a few questioning whispers shared between them.

“Ma’am?” One of them called, Nicole walking right past them and picking up speed as she went.

“Ma’am!” the other called, taking chase. Nicole ducked into an alley, the sounds of footsteps following her giving her hope that the others would escape. She gripped the edge of one of her throwing knives, pulling it from its spot in her jacket. The first guard rounded the corner, Nicole aiming quickly and letting the knife go. It sliced through the man’s skull with a crunch, the bloody pointed blade poking out of the man’s thick black hair. The next man rounded the corner, pausing as he was caught off guard by his dead partner. Nicole had the opportunity to charge him with her standard knife, shoving it deep into the man’s torso. The sound of flesh tearing echoed in her ears as she twisted the knife violently, the man falling to his knees as blood bubbled from his mouth, splattering Nicole. Nicole grit her teeth as she yanked the blade from the man’s torso, pulling her pistol as the final man came into few. She shot once, the man’s flesh peeling back from the proximity of the gun as he fell dead over his comrades. Nicole counted the seconds, the sound of other footsteps getting louder. She took off down the alley, taking a hard right as she did. If she remembered correctly, they were relatively close to the bank. Close enough for her horse to hear her and come when called.

She whistled quietly, just loud enough to be heard over the waves hitting the dock. She waited, listening for any sounds of footsteps but luckily hearing none except horse hooves on cobblestone. King came into view a few minutes later, the white dot between his eyes the only thing visible as he maneuvered his way through the alley. Nicole was crouched low near the water’s edge, and she knew that he could smell her. His ears swiveled forward, and his nose flared, Nicole standing just enough for him to finally spot her. She mounted him, patting his neck in reassurance as she stared out at the water. She was gonna have to go through the swamp at night if she was going to escape. Nicole had to get home, though, she had promised.

King’s head picked up, his feet moving faster than a few moments earlier, indicating to Nicole that they were getting closer to camp. They had wadded through the swamp, Nicole having to reassure King as the gators stirred and the mud pulled at his legs. It had caked his legs, making it slow going back to the camp, but Nicole refused to push King more than necessary. He had already gotten her out of a gator infested swamp, she owed it to him to let him go his own speed. It was still a few hours until morning, and Nicole knew she would have to wake the camp once she arrived. They needed to move, and quickly. Even if Doc and the boys had escaped, which Nicole hoped they did, law would be on them in heartbeat. An abandoned plantation house was the perfect place to hide a large group of people. Honestly, Nicole didn’t know how they hadn’t been caught already.

King was in a full-on sprint when Nicole spotted the lanterns, the noise muffled by the trees. The camp was awake, and they were already moving. Nicole urged King forward, his huffing loud and clear in Nicole’s ears as she scanned the camp. Chrissy was the first to see her, a wash bin clattering to the ground as she ran to hug Nicole. Soon, everyone was around her, questions flying around her like crazy. Nicole couldn’t quite keep up with what was happening. It was late and it had been a bad day. Gus’s face came into view, and suddenly Nicole felt ill, the image of Curtis hitting the ground still replaying in her mind.

“Gus,” Nicole croaked, staring up at the woman who had helped raise her. Gus’s face morphed into something Nicole had never seen, the cracking of her heart loud enough to reverberate in Nicole’s ears. Gus stood straighter, shaking her head as she clutched Nicole to her chest.

“We have to go,” Gus finally said, her voice even and calm as Nicole had always remembered it being. Nicole nodded, watching as Gus pulled away from her. Gus ordered the camp into action, the group around Nicole dispersing silently as they went back to packing things into the wagons. All but Waverly, who stood a few feet from Nicole, the camp busy behind her.

“Where’s everyone else?” She asked. Her voice wavered in a way that made Nicole flinch as she openly stared at Nicole. Nicole had never seen that particular look on Waverly’s face, but she’d seen it on plenty of others: fear.

“I, I don’t know,”

“Where’s my sister?”

“I, Waverly, I’m,” Nicole stuttered, Waverly’s eyes burrowing into Nicole’s soul, “I’m sorry. I don’t know. I don’t know, Waverly. I’m so sorry,”


	7. Hunting for Her Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> College has been brutal lately, so this chapter is a little later than usual. BUT I have the last chapters already planned out, so the end is in sight. I hope you enjoy this bizarre little chapter that took way more effort than I'd like to admit.

* * *

For once, Nicole didn’t know where they were going. She sat in the back of the wagon, the gentle sway comforting despite Nicole’s racing thoughts. Waverly was beside her, a thin hand wrapped around Nicole’s forearm. Her fingers would occasionally dig into her flesh, a reassuring squeeze before Waverly would run her hand down Nicole’s arm and back up to her original spot. She did it over and over, to the point where Nicole started to count the seconds between it occurring. She guessed that was what it was supposed to be – a distraction.

The sound of wheels and horses’ hooves being dragged in mud familiar enough to Nicole now to know that they were deeper in the swamp. The wagon pulled to a stop, Nicole almost not noticing it until Waverly encouraged her to move. The girls started unpacking the essentials, cots, blankets, and tents. They moved without hesitation, not needing instruction. The realization that their matriarch was broken-hearted evident in how quickly they worked. Nicole tried to help, only to be led over to the pile of logs Shorty was attempting to light.

Nicole sat while Shorty built the campfire. The years seemed to catch up with him in the shadows that the fire cast, his heavy brow, and his marred face. Waverly came over with a small bucket of water, placing it beside the fire to boil. Nicole didn’t notice, for the most part, too busy examining her hands for the first time in the light of the fire. Her hands were coated in a mixture of blood and mud. She suspected her clothes were too. The mud sat in little clumps along her palm and writs, tugging on the thin hairs there. The blood coated her hands entirely, dried now it cracked as she flexed her hand. She scrubbed at the blood, flaking it off piece by piece to reveal pink colored flesh underneath. She knew deep down that she would never wash the blood off her hands. She’d already killed too many men.

Once everyone’s cots and a few tents were unpacked, the gang began to split for the night. Waverly had taken off the boiling water a few minutes prior. The bucket cooled completely, but the water still warm. The small shack they had made camp was lit by lanterns inside. Waverly fetched a lantern from the shack, Alice on her heels as she set the lantern beside the Nicole.

“Kate,” Waverly called, gaining the attention of the other woman, “Can you watch Alice for a little bit,”

Kate looked between Alice, Waverly, and Nicole, a mournful look on her face as she nodded. She spoke softly to Alice for a minute, taking the little girl’s hand. Kate leaned in and kissed Nicole atop the head, whispering a soft, “You’ll be alright,” before taking Alice into the shack.

“You hurt any?” Waverly asked. Her voice was soft and comforting, and it almost made Nicole break down right there.

“Not that I know of,” Nicole managed to croak out, her throat surprisingly dry.

Waverly nodded, “It’s boiled, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s clean,” She gave a wry chuckle as she pulled out a small towel from the pocket of her skirt and dunked it into the warm water. She wrung it out, little droplets of water smacking the wet mud below it. Waverly then began to wash the blood and mud from Nicole’s face, the light-colored towel coming away in swirls of red and brown.

“Waverly,” Nicole sighed, pushing Waverly’s hand away and moving to stand, “I’m sorry, I just,” She paused again, staring down at her blood-splattered boots, “You don’t have to do this, go inside,”

Waverly tsked at her, gently pushing her shoulder until Nicole was hovering over the down log she had been sitting on previously. Nicole shook her head violently, standing again.

“Waverly!” Nicole snapped, the emotions rising higher at Waverly’s stubbornness, “I got it. Go inside,”

“You stubborn, woman,” Waverly sighed, “Sit down, let me take care of you,”

“No,” Nicole argued. Forgetting her wet face and running a hand down it, leaving little trails of wet blood and mud, “You can’t just keep doing this, Waverly. You can’t keep acting like this is normal, like I’m worth this,” Waverly stared up at Nicole, the flickering of the fire lighting up her eyes enough where Nicole could see her reflection in them. “You act as if I’m just some blundering fool falling in the mud. I’m covered in a man’s blood, Waverly! I’ve killed dozens of men! Tonight, was just the newest batch. I buried my knife to the hilt in a man’s chest. I shot a man point-blank,” Nicole could feel the hot tears running down her face, but she couldn’t stop them. She didn’t know if she wanted to stop them. She could barely breathe as the images of all the men she killed flash behind her eyelids. “I’ve watched the life drain from men and then robbed them without hesitation. I’m damned, Waverly. Always have been, always will be,”

“Did you enjoy killing them?” Waverly asked, her voice calm.

“What?” Nicole asked, the taste of copper and salt filling her mouth as the rivers of blood and tears kept falling down her face.

“Did you enjoy killing them?” Waverly continued, “I know my Daddy enjoyed hitting us. It gave him a sense of power. I’ve read about men who enjoy killing. The need to kill as strong for them as the need for food is for us. I’ve seen how much Bobo likes to kill and rob, and as much as you might fear it, I’ve seen how much Doc enjoys controlling people. So, did you enjoy killing them?”

Nicole stared at Waverly for a minute, her earlier thoughts halting as she took in the information. It didn’t matter if she enjoyed it or not. Nicole was still a killer.

“Of course not,” She finally sighed, shaking her head, “My point still stands though, Waverly. I’m a murderer,”

“What would have happened if you didn’t kill those men?” Nicole ground her teeth together; the argument still not meaning a damn thing to her.

“That doesn’t matter,”

“They would have killed you. They would have killed you the same way as they killed Curtis and Eliza. Nicole,” She urged, grabbing Nicole’s chin roughly and pulling it to wear Nicole was looking at her, “I’m not saying those men you killed didn’t matter. I’m not saying that what you did was right. I’m saying you didn’t have a choice,”

Nicole shook her head, “There’s always a choice,”

“Then choose to do something about it,” Waverly urged, pulling the leather satchel Dolls had handed Nicole off the log. It sagged in Waverly’s hands the weight making a satisfying thump against the mud. “If Doc returns,” Waverly argued, “He’s gonna take this from you. He’s gonna hide it, and you’ll never see it again. He’s gonna hang it over your head so you’ll do his bidding. Unless you hide it first,”

“What? No, I can’t do that,” Nicole argued, “That ain’t how things are run around here. Doc,” Nicole paused, letting out a long audible sigh, “Doc’s like a brother to me. He helped raise me,” 

“Into this life you don’t even want,” Waverly sighed, shaking her head. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Waverly’s fingers flexed against the leather of the satchel, the money, and gold inside enough for Nicole to disappear forever. “God, Nicole, you’re worth so much more than this,” Waverly finally whispered, her eyes glassy as she waved her hand around in the thick swamp air.

“I ain’t worth anything,”

“Agree to disagree,” Waverly smiled, shaking her head. “The world is changing, and you gotta change with it,”

“I can’t hide it, not personally. I can talk to Nedley see if he will,”

“I’ll hide it,”

“Waverly,”

“I know what I’m getting into, I can handle it,” Nicole sighed again, her shoulders relaxing as she let herself believe the words. It didn’t matter if Nicole actually did or not because Waverly had the same look in her eyes that Wynonna often did. There weren’t no arguing with that.

“Just be careful,” Nicole urged, “You’re in the den of bad folk,”

“You are so damn stubborn,” Waverly smiled, “Sit down and let me clean you up some,”

* * *

Nedley rode into St. Denis the next morning to see if he could get any information. He returned to camp with confirmation that no gang members had been arrested, and that the whereabouts of Doc and the rest of the missing gang members was unknown. Curtis and Eliza’s bodies were being held at the prison, and would later be buried by the state. It was too dangerous to go and retrieve either Curtis’s or Eliza’s body, an ambush likely with the heat the gang had gotten from the robbery.

Instead, the girls gathered up things that Eliza often used that had no monetary value to bury at a later time when they were out of the swamp. Nicole knew Gus would do the same, once the hurt had eased a bit, and they would have a proper funeral for their fallen comrades. For now, it was about lying low and healing until Doc showed up again. If he showed up again, Nicole reminded herself. She knew the general rule of waiting three weeks before moving on wasn’t going to matter this time. It was fine when they were waiting on a random straggler to catch up to their running, but moving without Doc? That’d be impossible.

“You want a drink?” Robin asked, appearing from seemingly nowhere with a beer in each hand.

“Can’t not with the week we’ve had,” Nicole sighed, taking a bottle from Robin. “How are you doing?”

Robin took a sip of his beer, shaking his head as he swallowed, “It all happened so fast, Nicole. None of us had seen any Pinkertons in months, and yet they surrounded us within minutes,”

“Unless they’d been tailing us without us knowing,”

“Tailing twenty people and not getting caught? Seems like someone would’ve seen something,”

“Mighta been the wrong person,” Nicole sighed, squishing the now empty beer bottle into the wet ground.

“You think it was a setup?”

“I think we’ve been shit out of luck lately is all,” Nicole noted, tucking a cigarette in her lip as she dug around for the matchbox she kept in her satchel. Robin nodded, handing Nicole a matchbox which she took gleefully. They took in the camp for a moment. The emptiness of the camp causing a shiver to run down Nicole’s spine. Okay, and maybe the quick grin Waverly gave her as she passed didn’t help. Robin chuckled, gaining Nicole’s attention.

“You courting that girl yet?” Robin asked, a grin on his face.

Nicole let out a laugh, taking a moment to blow smoke up into the air, “I don’t know much about courtin’. Besides, doubt she’d even want _me_ to be courtin’ her,”

“Hmm, I don’t know about that,” Robin shook his head, “Seems your name is always coming outta her mouth,”

“Mhmm,”

“I’m serious, Nicole. The world ain’t a kind place to folks like us. This gang, well, it’s been home, but it wouldn’t have been, had I not found Jeremy. People like us? We gotta carve out our own happiness in the world. And that’s a lot easier when someone is by your side,” 

“You thinking of becoming a preacher or something? You and your wise words,” There was no bite to her words, and Robin smiled sweetly at her. Robin wasn’t like her, though. Robin was charming and gentle and deserved to be with someone. He and Jeremy worked somehow, their opposite energies blending well.

“Just consider what I said,”

Nicole stared at him, that same sweet smile on his face, “I will,” Nicole agreed, smoke curling around her face, “And I hope Jeremy and them will be home soon,”

“Me too, Nicole. Me too,”

Nicole didn’t think about herself much. She had never really had to. There were always people telling her how she was and what they did and didn’t like about her. Somehow though, Robin’s words stuck with her. She reckoned it was her own stupid hopefulness, maybe a bit of desperation for companionship, but nothing real. Waverly Earp was far too good to love a wretched thing like Nicole. At least, that’s how Nicole saw things.

Still, Robin’s words kept replaying in her head, and before Nicole knew it, she couldn’t get the thought to go away. It was like the gnats that swarmed her head at night out in the swamp, their insistent buzzing keeping her awake at night. It didn’t help that now Nicole noticed Waverly’s bizarre behavior. So, she noticed it before, but that was before Robin had gone and stuck crazy ideas in her head. Worse, Robin had offered up the idea that Waverly would _let_ Nicole court her. That was a whole lot of hopefulness for an outlaw that wasn’t used to having much hope. Nicole sighed. To top it all off, Dolls wasn’t even here to reel her in from those fantasies. So, Nicole decided, that’s who she’d blame if the hairbrained idea brewing in her head didn’t work out for the best.

Nicole stealthily packed up her winter clothes onto her saddle, the early morning haze offering the perfect cover for her. King sleepily nuzzled his head against the pocket Nicole kept his treats in, his velvety lips pulling at the fabric of her shirt. She cupped his snout, pushing it away from her shirt only for him to butt against her chest.

“You’re a bossy sonofabitch,” Nicole sighed, pulling out an oatcake for King.

The horse munched happily on it as Nicole shoved the thick jacket under her bedroll. Shorty eyeballed her as he came out of the shack, his heavy footfalls echoing against the hollow wood of the shack’s front porch. Nicole waved at him and pulled out another oatcake to give to King. Shorty seemed pleased, waving back to her before shifting through the haphazardly packed things of the chuckwagon and pulling out a sack of onions. The wagons had all been unpacked, but most everything was still in little piles, not knowing what to do with the things of the gang members who were missing.

“You better not be making a run for it,” Waverly teased, the soft squish of her boots altering Nicole to her approach. Waverly was dressed in the outfit she had bought when Nicole took her into Valentine a few weeks ago. It seemed more like years if Nicole was honest, the woman in front of her completely different from the one who meekly asked her questions.

“Nah, thinking of going on a hunting trip,” Nicole answered the unasked question, giving Waverly a smile that she hoped seemed natural.

“Hmm, how long do you think you’ll be gone?”

“Only a day or two. Hopefully,” Waverly wrapped her arms around herself, letting out a long sigh as she smiled up at Nicole. The stress from the last few days had been getting to everyone, and Nicole could tell the unknown was eating away at Waverly just as much as it was everyone else. Possibly more. “How’s Alice doing?”

“She’s okay,” Waverly said after a small pause, “She keeps asking when her mama will be back, but I don’t think she realizes anything beyond Wynonna not being here,”

“They’ll come home,” Nicole reassured.

“I hope so,” Waverly sighed, moving to wrap her arms around Nicole’s shoulders. Nicole returned the hug, hoping that Waverly couldn’t hear the racing of her heart. They had slept in the same bed for weeks at the old plantation house, but being this close to Waverly still made Nicole nervous. “You come back, too, okay? I can’t lose both of you,” Waverly whispered against Nicole’s chest.

“You ain’t losing nobody, Waverly,”

Nicole could admit when she was wrong. She had to be able to because she was wrong far more often than she was right. Following the steep, icy trail up to the mountains, she had been cursing since she left? A truly terrible plan. Spring had finally come to the mountains, the snow melting along the lower elevations. In its wake, it left streams of water flowing down whatever path had the least resistance, which was most often the trails leading up the mountain. Those impromptu streams then iced over only to broken apart by stomping horses and creaking wagons. It also led to too many stranded wagons and dead horses on the side of the trails. King snorted as he climbed a particularly steep embankment, his shoed feet slipping slightly on the terrain.

However, the grass was green, and flowers had started to press themselves through the frozen ground. There was still a chill in the air that made Nicole pull her jacket tighter, but she was determined to at least try to get Waverly’s attention. Not that she knew much about courting. Well, not seriously courting. Shae had had several issues with the ideals of courting, voicing them openly to her father, and most of the other women Nicole had been with where either prostitutes or girls who ran with the gang. But something about Waverly made Nicole want to at least try to do things the right way. Well, at least in a way that made Waverly different from the other women. Because Waverly was different, exceptionally so, and Nicole hadn’t ever been very good with words. Tracking down a moose was much easier than words. A gust of wind blew the freezing droplets of water that hung from the trees into Nicole’s face, the cold setting deep in her bones despite the spring sun. Yes, tracking down a moose was much easier.

Nicole diverted from the trail, leading King into the grassy terrain. The wet mud squished as he walked, the perfect amount of mud to make tracking easy. They continued for a few paces, King becoming more confident in his footing and Nicole being able to concentrate more on the various animal tracks alongside the now abandoned trail. Nicole unconsciously yanked on the reins, King snorting at the command and rearing slightly.

“Motherfucker,” She whispered to herself, patting King absentmindedly before dismounting and making her way towards the trail cut into the grass. She stared wide-eyed at the prints in front of her; they were even larger than she thought. Admittedly, she had never seen a moose, but she had heard how large they were. Great towering giants that would as soon stomp you into the ground as they would flee. A shiver ripped through her as she measured the single print against her boot, the print matching her boot in size. Nicole shook her head, mumbling to herself as she mounted her horse.

She followed the moose’s trails easily, the prints cutting through grass and ice as the animal stayed well ahead of Nicole. At one point, Nicole was sure she had gone insane. She was chasing an animal that was as mystical as a damn unicorn and dangerous as a bear. And it was all for a girl. In any other circumstance she would have already turned around, determined to forget whatever stupid idea she had formed. This time, however, Robin’s words kept echoing in her head as she trudged onward.

It took another two hours before she got a glimpse of something, movement in deep in the tree line ahead of her. She stopped King, squinting through the trees at the mass of brown. King stomped his feet a bit, settling his feet into the wet earth as the creature in the woods still swayed. Nicole whistled cautiously, fingering at the rifle strapped to her saddle. She kept her eyes on the mass, but couldn’t tell if it had moved until it stared right back at her. He was big, the biggest thing Nicole had ever seen. He stomped out of the tree line, seemingly as big as the trees themselves. Twigs, or possibly logs Nicole couldn’t be sure, snapped under his weight as his breath frosted in the chilled air. Two bulbs jutted from his head, the antlers he would use to kill not fully grown yet and still covered in velvet. Somehow, it made him even more terrifying. Nicole couldn’t imagine his massive head being made any larger by a set of antlers.

Nicole slowly undid the tying’s of her rifle, releasing it from the saddle. She slowly lifted it to her shoulder, staring at the animal through the iron sights. She clicked her tongue once, King lowering his head obediently as she took a deep breath, squeezing the trigger as she breathed out. The gun recoiled against her violently, the smell of gunpowder and gun oil fresh in her nose as King shifted his feet again. The moose crashed backwards into the woods, the sound echoing around the mountain like thunder. Nicole sighed loudly, straining her eyes to see if the animal was moving at all. The last thing she needed was to get near that beast while it was still alive.

Finally, she led King towards the moose. His body was as long as he was tall, and Nicole stared at him for what seemed like an eternity. He was beautiful, yet terrifying and Nicole wasn’t even sure how to dress him. Nicole had actually done it. She’d done it.

* * *

Nicole rode back into camp early the next morning. The massive moose hide on the back of her horse. She motioned for Shorty to come help her, the man the only one out so early. He stared wildly at the huge hide poking at it with a pencil as he examined it.

“You kill a bear?” He asked, tucking the pencil behind his ear.

“A moose!” Nicole corrected, undoing the straps holding down the hide.

“Hmm, you went off a ways to get this fella,” Shorty grunted, helping Nicole lift the hide and waddling with her towards the chuck wagon.

“Yeah ‘bout that,” Nicole heaved it into the chuckwagon with Shorty’s help, “You mind keeping it a secret, at least ‘til tonight. I’ll give you some meat in return,” He stared at her skeptically, but Shorty wasn’t one to ask too many questions. It was one of the many things Nicole liked about the man.

“I suppose,” He agreed, taking the pencil out from behind his ear, “Just don’t give me any shitty meat,”

“Course not,”

Nicole ran her fingers through her hair one more time before straightening the vest she wore. She hadn’t thought to leave her vest with Chrissy to wash while she hunted the moose, but it was too late now, and she just hoped that Waverly wouldn’t mind the faded mud stains in the red fabric. Besides, there hadn’t been much time to start chores at the temporary camp. Most everyone spent the day looking over their shoulder for either law of one of the missing gang members to come staggering out of the swamp. It was fine, Nicole finally decided, scooping her hat off the hammock and placing it carefully on her head.

Nicole made her way through camp, taking extra care not to step too heavily and risk splattering fresh mud onto her pants. Nicole had done some thinking, deciding to find Waverly before supper, knowing she would be with Chrissy. Sure enough, the two had huddled under a large tree with a flared trunk. Nicole weren’t too sure what type of tree it was, a cypress perhaps, but she’ always just called them swamp trees.

“Hello, ladies,” Nicole greeted, grinning wider than she should have at Waverly. Nicole could see Chrissy staring at her from the corner of her eye. Nicole turned quickly to face Chrissy, “Chrissy, you mind watching Alice for a little while? I’d like to steal Waverly for a moment,” Nicole emphasized her question with a wide-eyed glare at Chrissy, internally begging the woman to agree.

Luckily, Chrissy picked up on it immediately, her eyes darting between Nicole and Waverly excitedly, “Oh, of course,” She agreed quickly, “I don’t mind at all,” Nicole sighed in relief, ignoring the wide grin Chrissy threw her way.

“Waverly, mind taking a walk with me?”

Waverly stood to follow Nicole, a confused smile on her face. Nicole tried to ignore what the type of look could mean and instead lead Waverly further away from the camp.

“You gonna feed me to the gators?” Waverly questioned, smiling widely as she looked around for the prehistoric beast.

“No,” Nicole chuckled, her hand hovering over the small of her back as she steered Waverly to the downed log she had found earlier. As Waverly sat, Nicole dug into her satchel, searching for the cloth-covered food she had stored there earlier in the day. Finally, she pulled two cloth covered lumps from her satchel, ignoring Waverly’s confusion as she sat beside the other woman.

“I, ugh, did something a little crazy,” Nicole admitted, “I remember, a while ago, you told me about moose. I mean, I knew about moose, but you told me about preparing moose with your mama. So, I, ugh, I sorta went killed a moose,” Nicole sighed, unwrapping the cooked meat and showing Waverly. Waverly gasped, clutching Nicole’s arm as she pulled the meat closer to her face. Then, laughter bubbled from her throat. It was a sound that both brought joy and dread to Nicole’s heart.

“Nicole,” Waverly gasped, still laughing as she gathered her thoughts, “Nobody hunts moose during the spring!” 

“Oh,” Nicole mumbled, her cheeks heating at the realization.

“Oh, don’t be embarrassed,” Waverly breathed, chuckling softly as she cupped Nicole’s face, “I love it,” She admitted. “It’s just they don’t even have antlers this time a year. Most everybody who hunted them would try for the largest ones,”

“He was plenty big,” Nicole joked, “Tall as a gotdamn tree,”

Waverly laughed a bit more, shaking her head at Nicole before nodding to the other cloth in Nicole’s hand.

“Oh, some rolls I bought. I didn’t know what you usually eat with moose, but I figured I couldn’t go wrong with bread,”

Waverly smiled, shaking her head, “I don’t know what has gotten into you Nicole Haught, but I think I might like it,”

The two ate slowly, conversation flowing easily between the two as Nicole bitched about how dull her knife was. She could have sworn she had just sharpened it a few days ago, but the way it sliced through the moose meat said otherwise. Waverly told stories of her father hunting moose during the fall, coming back to the house with the hide and antlers across his shoulders. Nicole couldn’t imagine the animal she had seen being made even larger with antlers. It alone could feed an entire family for the winter. She had paid a pretty penny to get the rest of the meat down to Lemoyne by train, and even then, most of the meat had to be sold off to the local butcher because she hadn’t had enough money to get it all on the train.

“Well, I’ll admit it. Spring moose might be better than fall moose,” Waverly sighed, taking Nicole’s offered hand as she stood. Nicole took notice of how she didn’t let go as they began to walk.

“Really? My attempts weren’t futile,”

“No, not at all. It was much better, more tender this time of year,”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Nicole smiled, trying her best to get rid of the lump in her throat.

“Although, I’m curious as to why you climbed a mountain just to get me a moose?” Nicole stopped in her tracks, clearing her throat as she tried to get her thoughts together. “Nicole,” Waverly called, stepping closer to her, “What is it?”

Nicole sighed, loudly, staring up at the sky before looking at Waverly, “I was uh, talking to Robin a few days ago,” She started, fidgeting slightly under Waverly’s intense stare, “Waverly, I wanted to ask you, if you’d allow me, to court you,”

“To court me?” Waverly asked, a wide grin on her face as she chuckled lightly.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have overstepped,” Nicole rushed to explain, turning away from Waverly only to be stopped by a firm hand grabbing her arm.

“You aren’t overstepping,” Waverly shook her head, “I just figured courting wasn’t a part of the outlaw vocabulary,”

“It is when it comes to you,” Nicole sighed.

“Oh,” Waverly breathed, smiling up at Nicole.

“You don’t gotta agree to it if you don’t want to,” Nicole urged, “I know it ain’t exactly conventional, and I, well I ain’t exactly,”

“I would love for you to court me,” Waverly admitted, “Although, I feel like courting is extremely outdated,”

“You’d let me court you, though?” Nicole asked, a small smile on her face.

“You oblivious cowboy,” Waverly shook her head, “I’d spend the rest of my life with you if you let me,”

Nicole couldn’t help herself then, leaning to kiss Waverly. It was no more than a peak; a blink and you miss it moment. The last thing Nicole wanted was to scare off Waverly. But that didn’t seem to be an option because the moment Nicole pulled back, Waverly was rushing to reconnect their lips, their teeth knocking together at the force of the kiss. It had been a long time since Nicole had kissed someone. It had been even longer since she had kissed someone like this. Waverly deepened the kiss, threading her fingers through Nicole’s hair as Nicole’s hands flexed uselessly against Waverly’s hips.

The sound of a throat being cleared broke them apart, Nicole stumbling backwards as she created space between her and Waverly. Nedley grumbled to himself a little, his own cheeks rivaling Nicole’s as he threw his thumb over his shoulder towards camp, “Sorry, ugh, Dolls is back,”

“Dolls is here, he might know something ‘bout Wynonna,” Waverly reasoned, gripping at the sleeve of Nicole’s shirt.

“Yeah, go,” Nicole encouraged, giving her a small smile as Waverly squeezed her arm before taking off towards camp.

Nedley and Nicole stared at each other for a minute, both of their cheeks red and a small, knowing smile on Nedley’s face.

“Can I be the one to tell Chrissy about this?” He teased, the smile widening when Nicole huffed at him on her way back to camp.


	8. Secrets and Threats

Nicole offered Dolls a bowl of stew and a spare bread roll she had. The usually reserved man shoveled the food into his mouth, making small noises of appreciation. His clothes were torn and covered in dust, but overall, he seemed okay. He was exhausted, that was obvious, but he was alert and interacting with the others around him.

He ate another bowl of stew before he began to explain what happened. They had made it to a ship thanks to Nicole’s help. They had been stowaways until they were further out into the ocean when Doc decided it was safe enough to contact the captain of the ship. Doc had paid the man a small amount to stay quiet, and the dispersed gang had bunked with the ship workers. Then there had been a storm, one strong enough to sink the ship. Dolls vaguely explained that they had made it to a lifeboat to escape a watery grave. The lifeboat was spotted a few days later, and they had been dropped off in a little port town called Van Horn.

Nicole knew there was more to the story than Dolls let on, but it was obvious that he didn’t want to share whatever it was. He had mentioned that the rest of the missing gang members would be showing up in the next couple of days, relieving almost everyone in the camp. All they could do until then would be to wait and discuss plans among themselves. Nicole knew not to push Dolls about what had happened between her leaving them and his arrival back. If he wanted her to know, he would tell her, and Nicole respected that. Instead, she made sure he got rest and went back to the few chores they had around camp.

Except there weren’t a lot of jobs to do around a camp that was only temporary, so she spent most of that time sitting on the shack’s porch. And maybe she spent a lot of that time with Waverly, but who was paying attention. Nicole was rigging up one of the hammocks that had already been cleaned when Waverly snuck up behind her, snaking her arms around Nicole’s waist and pressing her head between Nicole’s shoulder blades.

“Rough day?” Nicole chuckled, tying the last piece of rope to the wall.

“Mmm,” Waverly hummed, squeezing Nicole’s middle before letting go and taking a step back, “If Shorty tells me to boil another pail of water I’m gonna scream,”

“Sorry,” Nicole mumbled, turning to face Waverly, “Anything I can do for you?”

Waverly grinned, closing the distance between them in a few strides and leaned up to connect their lips. Nicole should have expected it by now, but somehow it still surprised her just how intense Waverly kissed. It was like she couldn’t get enough of Nicole. Her fingers always tangled in Nicole’s hair, and her breath coming out ragged. Not that Nicole was complaining. It was just a surprise that Waverly could be so _desperate._

Waverly tugged at Nicole’s hair more forcefully, drawing a yelp from Nicole’s throat. The sound only encouraged Waverly. She deepened the kiss, her hands moving down to tug at Nicole’s shirt that was tucked into her jeans. Nicole easily caught her hands, stilling their movements as she pulled away from Waverly.

“Waverly,” She whispered, stepping back to create space between them, “You make it awfully hard to stay appropriate,”

“Well, maybe that’s my plan,” Waverly teased, stepping back into Nicole’s space.

“Waverly,” Nicole warned, her voice pleading a little, “I’m trying to do right by you,”

Waverly stared up at her then, a small smile on her face as she shook her head, “One day you’re gonna realize I’m just as damned as you,” Nicole hadn’t moved, so Waverly took another step forward, wrapping her arms around Nicole’s neck.

“I highly doubt that,” Nicole sighed, placing her hands on Waverly’s hip tentatively.

“Oh, I assure you I am,” Waverly argued, “And I know _exactly_ what I’m doing,” She whispered, lifting Nicole’s hat off her head and tossing it over to the hammock.

Nicole chuckled, nodding despite herself, “Okay, Waverly,” She agreed, leaning down to kiss her again. Waverly hummed in content, burying her fingers into Nicole’s hair again as Nicole’s pulled her closer.

The shack door creaked obnoxiously, gaining Nicole’s attention. She pulled away from Waverly, the disappointed sigh she let out brushing against Nicole’s lips

“Aunt Waverly, I can’t find my doll,” Alice’s voice broke through the spell. Nicole’s fingers twitched against the fabric of Waverly’s dress, taking in Alice’s muddy dress and forlorn face. Waverly stepped further into Nicole’s space, resting her head against her shoulder.

“I don’t know how Wynonna ever had time to sneak away with one man, let alone two,” Waverly whispered, causing Nicole to chuckle. Nicole took a step back, kissing Waverly’s hair before detangling herself from the other woman.

“I’m sure it’s around here somewhere,” Nicole reassured Alice, scooping up her hat from the dusty floor since Waverly had missed the hammock by a foot. She patted Alice on the head, turning her head and smiling back at Waverly. “I’m gonna go find Dolls, got a few things to discuss with him. I’ll come find you before supper, though?”

Waverly smiled, wrapping her arms around herself as she nodded, “I’d like that very much,” Nicole grinned back at her, tilting her hat towards her before making her way outside.

Nicole found Dolls out by the water, skipping rocks across the slimy surface of the swamp. He didn’t seem to notice her approaching, and it worried her out of it he had been since returning to the gang.

“You tryna scare all the fish away?” She asked, kicking a rock towards his own boot.

“Hmm, sorry,” He mumbled, turning back to look at her. His large straw hat shaded most of his face, but it couldn’t hide the bags underneath his eyes, “I guess I was lost in thought,”

“I understand,” Nicole nodded, leaning against a tree close enough to him so they could speak, “You’ve been a little out of it lately,”

Dolls sighed, turning a rock over in his hands before chucking it out across the water. It gave one good bounce before it sunk into the water with a satisfying plop. “I’m worried about them,” He admitted, turning to look at Nicole.

Nicole studied him for a second. His shoulders were drawn in, his back bent. He wasn’t the same determined man he had been when they left to rob the bank. He seemed almost broken. “Dolls, what happened on that boat?”

He sighed, rolling his shoulders back, so he was standing tall, “Doc lost it,” He admitted, moving to lean against the same tree. “Lost his mind, lost the money,” He sighed.

“What you mean he lost it?”

“I don’t know, Nicole. One moment we were sneaking onto a ship, and the next moment he was murdering the ship hands that were grabbing at the lifeboats,”

“What?”

Dolls shook his head and stared up at the sky, “The storm,” He explained, “Happened soon after we left the harbor. Waves the size of mountains crashing over us, I was sure we were all gonna die, least of all I was,” He sighed, again. Nicole didn’t say anything. She knew he was struggling to remember, she could see it in his eyes. “The storm hit us so quick. Hell, we were still in our dress clothes. The ship’s hands ushered us to where we needed to be, half of ‘em didn’t even speak English. They were determined to save us though, a bunch of criminal stowaways,” Dolls let out a bitter laugh. “Then Doc killed them,”

Nicole blinked at him, trying to think of something to say. She wanted more details. She wanted to know how and when and if he had good reasoning, but the haunted look in Dolls’ eyes told her everything she needed to know.

“The next morning, I confronted him,” Dolls continued, “There was only five of us on that damn boat made for fifteen,” Dolls gritted his teeth, “He threatened to throw me overboard, threatened to hold me under till I drowned or a shark got me,”

“Dolls,” Nicole sighed, reaching out to touch him.

“He punched me afterwards, knocked me out cold. We were all dehydrated and angry, but Doc, Doc, was something else. Something evil, Nicole,”

“Doc isn’t. That’s,” Nicole spluttered. She’d known Doc all her life. He was her brother and her teacher all in one, but he had changed. She didn’t know when and she didn’t know why, but suddenly he wasn’t the same. He was something else.

“You said he lost the money too?” Nicole asked, curling her fingers into fists to stop them from shaking.

“At the bottom of the ocean,” Dolls nodded, “Doc seemed confident you had made it with the bag I gave you,”

Nicole inhaled sharply. She hadn’t discussed anything about the money with Waverly after that night. She didn’t even know where the other woman had hidden it. The desperate look in Dolls’s eyes made her want rethink her decision on not bringing it up at all.

“I brought it back to camp,” Nicole reassured, “I’ve gotten it hidden somewhere in the swamp,” 

“What?” Dolls jerked his head towards her, scrunching his brow as he stared at her.

“I’m not giving it to Doc,” Nicole clarified, “When he comes back I’ll make something up, but he’s not getting it,”

“What are you saying, Nicole?”

“There’s enough money for the both of us, Dolls. Doc. Doc has changed. I don’t know what’s going on in his head, but giving him that money? We’d never see it again, just like the money in Blackwater. We’d both be able to buy a piece of land and stop all this killin’,”

Dolls scratched the stubble on his chin, humming to himself as he took in the information, “You saying we leave all these people behind?”

“Of course not,” Nicole argued, “But there’s only so much money, Dolls. If it weren’t for you, I’d likely be dead. I can’t repay you for that, but this is the closest I can get to taking care of you like you did me,”

“And the others?”

“Everyone makes their own decisions. If Doc is acting like you said he is, I doubt people won’t notice. We get as many people who want to leave out, and then ourselves,”

“If he finds out about this, or if someone talks? He’s gonna see this as a betrayal, Nicole. You know what would happen,” Dolls sighed, his voice shaky at the thought.

“He’s already tried to kill you once, Dolls. Just for raising a question against his actions. He’s run off the rails, and that means none of us are safe. We get out who we can and damn the consequences,”

“You have to promise me one thing,” He whispered, “Wynonna and Alice…if this all goes to shit? If I can’t?” He paused, the underlying meaning to his words hitting Nicole square in the gut, “Get them out.”

“Of course,” Nicole nodded, “Long as you promise me you’ll get Waverly out?”

Dolls stared at her, his eyes soft as he nodded. “Of course,” He agreed, letting out a slow breath, “We’re a pair of Goddamn fools, aren’t we?” And Nicole had to agree with him on that.

* * *

The missing gang members trickled into the temporary camp throughout the next week. Jeremy coming through two days after Dolls much to the delight of Robin. Nicole knew that she should probably talk to Jeremy about Doc. She needed to know if he had gotten worse since they had gotten to land. She didn’t have to, though, because the moment Wynonna stomped her way into camp, she was raising hell about Doc.

“Wynonna,” Waverly seethed, pulling her older sister in the shack and away from the curious eyes of the gang. Nicole took Alice’s hand to lead her away from the commotion her mother was raising. The last thing Alice needed to see was Wynonna going off the handle. She sat the little girl at the small table Shorty had set up, telling her to wait as she got some stew. Dolls eyeballed her, making his way slowly through camp as Nicole scooped stew into a small bowl for Alice.

“Any sign of Doc?” He asked, taking the bowl of stew from Nicole’s hands.

“Not yet, but with the hell Wynonna is raising, it’s only a matter of time,” Nicole sighed, walking alongside Dolls as they headed back to Alice.

Alice accepted the bowl of stew happily, spilling stew over the size as she shoveled the food into her mouth. Dolls sat beside her, gently telling her to slow down just as Waverly and Wynonna emerged from the shack. Wynonna still had fire in her eyes, and she quickly scanned the camp before her eyes rested on Alice. Her eyes softened a bit, but her strides were still determined, her boots leaving deep indentions in the mud.

Waverly trailed behind her, her arms wrapped around herself. Nicole made her way over to the sisters, nodding her head at Wynonna in greeting. Wynonna grunted at her and kept walking, the thump of her boot reverberating in Nicole’s ears. Waverly came to a stop in front of her, letting out a loud sigh as she shook her head.

“You okay?” Nicole asked involuntarily, reaching out and laying her hand over Waverly’s arm.

“I’m alright,” Waverly nodded, unfolding her arms and taking Nicole’s hand in her own, “I’ve never seen Wynonna so mad,”

“It’s hard,” Nicole acknowledged, running a thumb over Waverly’s knuckles.

“I just hope,” She paused, taking a steadying breath, “I just hope Wynonna doesn’t do anything stupid,”

“I hope not either, darling,” Nicole agreed, looking back to Wynonna. She was standing beside the table now, a foot propped up on the bench Alice was seated. Hopefully, whatever happened, Alice wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire between her two parents.

A few hours after Wynonna arrived to camp, Doc sauntered into the small shack, mud dripping from his usual pristine duster. Nicole held her breath as she looked between Wynonna and Doc, the excitement in the shack at their leader’s return falling on deaf ears. Luckily, Wynonna didn’t do anything rash and instead just ushered Alice to their shared hammock.

“Thank you,” Doc smiled, tipping his hat towards Rosita as she handed him a cup of coffee.

“It’s been hard, Doc,” Shorty sighed, bringing him a bowl of stew and a bread roll. “If it weren’t for Miss Kate, I ain’t sure where we would have gone,”

“Well on behalf of everybody, thank you, Kate,”

Kate smiled softly at him, sitting back against the shack’s wall. Doc dug into the stew, talking quietly with Gus. Nicole glanced back at Wynonna and Alice, both tucked into the bottom hammock at the far end of the shack.

“Nicole,” Doc called, the volume of his voice signaling that he had already called her name a few times.

“Doc,” Nicole greeted, moving to stand near the man. He motioned for her to join him outside. Nicole glanced back to Waverly watching the two of them like a hawk. She gave the other woman a reassuring smile and stepped out of the shack close on Doc’s heels.

He stood on the small porch of the shack, breathing steadily as he stared out into the expanse of darkness the swamp brought. He sighed out once, pulling a packet of cigarettes from his pocket and holding it out to Nicole. Nicole took a cigarette, placing it in her mouth slowly as he pulled one out for himself and lighted it. He motioned for her to come closer, lighting her cigarette for her before shaking the match out and tossing it into the swamp water. He leaned back on his heels as he inhaled deeply, the small ring of fire glowing brightly on the pitch-black porch.

“I wanted to thank you for what you did at the docks personally,” Doc exhaled, before continuing, “Unfortunately, the money we managed to swipe, was lost at sea,”

“I heard there was a storm,” Nicole acknowledge, hoping her voice didn’t sound as nervous as she felt.

“A bad one at that,” Doc sighed, “I was hoping the money Dolls handed you had survived?”

Nicole inhaled slowly, blowing the smoke out as she shook her head, “I’m sorry, Doc” Doc mumbled to himself and Nicole hurried to continue, “Got lost out in the swamp, King got spooked by a gator, and they had hounds on my ass,”

“It’s okay,” Doc growled, throwing the cigarette out into the water, “I’m glad you’re okay,” Nicole nodded slowly, clenching her jaw as to not say anything stupid. “What the hell is that?” Doc asked suddenly, squinting against the dark road.

Nicole squinted at well, movement catching her eye before disappearing again into the night. Just as she was about to open her mouth, a flash of fire crashed into one of the wagons, setting the dry wood aflame.

“Shit,” Nicole cursed, stumbling back alongside Doc as they ducked into the shack. “Everybody get down!” She hollered, ducking behind the door frame as Dolls rushed to get his guns.

“Doc Holliday!” A voice called outside the shack, the sounds of multiple horses filling the air. “I’m glad to see you boys made it home,” The voice was familiar, but Nicole couldn’t place it.

“Well, Gardener, you can gladly kiss my lily-white ass,” Doc yelled back, pulling his guns from his holsters.

“I’m frankly tired of tracking you boys down,” Agent Gardener called, followed by a few seconds of silence. Doc peeked out the door, the sound of gunfire exploding the moment he did. Doc ducked back into the shack, cursing to himself as he nodded at Nicole.

“Okay, boys!” Doc hollered, throwing his gun through the door and firing quickly. Dolls tossed Nicole her repeater. Nicole caught it effortlessly, ducking down under the window before knowing the glass out of the window. She fired off rounds quickly, bodies falling left and right as the rest of the gang started firing back. A bullet split the wood above the window, splitting the wood down the middle and throwing out splinters onto the gang members hunkered down behind the window.

“Fire, boys! Fire!” Doc hollered, moving back into the house to reload. Nicole stood back up, firing twice before more intense gunfire rained down on the shack. Wynonna crawled to beside Nicole, peeking out above the window before standing her full height shooting one of the Pinkertons who had advanced towards the shack.

Nicole joined her, covering her as she reloaded and then reloaded when Wynonna could cover her. Doc went back to the door, firing the last few rounds as the Pinkertons began to fall back.

“That’s right, cowards! Keep running!” Wynonna yelled, shooting one brave soul who had kept his post behind a tree.

Nicole turned quickly, surveying the scene of the shack. There were bullet holes and splinters everywhere, but she didn’t see any blood. She continued to search the shack, her eyes darting from face to face until they finally landed on Waverly’s. She climbed over to her, stepping over layers of spent bullet casing as to not to trip.

“You okay?” She asked, cupping Waverly’s head once she was close enough to her.

“Yeah. Yeah, you?” Waverly sighed, twisting her hands into Nicole’s shirt.

“I’m good, I’m good,” Nicole reassured, sighing in relief as Waverly wrapped her arms around Nicole’s waist. Chrissy poked her head out from behind a chest, Alice’s little head poking out soon after. Alice ran over to her mother, Wynonna quickly drawing her into her arms as she checked her over quickly.

“We gotta get out of her,” Dolls sighed, addressing the gang.

“Where are we even going to go?” Nedley gruffed, pulling at his torn jacket.

Doc cleared his throat, his feet stomping the floor slightly, “Pack up,” He ordered, “There’s a spot near Annesburg. I had Bobo scout a bit out there before we robbed the bank,”

“You had Bobo scout out a place?” Dolls asked, his eyes unwavering as Doc’s eyes glared at him.

“I did,” Doc sneered, “Do you have a problem with that, Xavier?”

Dolls stepped back from Doc, but didn’t lower his head as he shook his head, “Of course not, Boss,”

“Pack up,” Doc ordered again, throwing his hand out towards everyone in the shack. Nicole caught Dolls’s eyes, the two of them having a silent conversation before Dolls nodded slowly at her, a frown on his face.

The sun had just broken over the mountains when the wagon train turned on the road leading up to their new camp. Wynonna, Alice, and Waverly were tucked against the wagon Nicole drove, the burnt wagon crowding the moving gang more than usual. Dolls rode a few paces behind them on his horse, backtracking every few minutes to make sure they weren’t being followed.

Nicole parked the wagon near the rock faces the new camp backed up to, jumping out of the wagon and lifting Alice out of the cargo area. She then helped Waverly while Wynonna leaped out herself, landing loudly beside Nicole, a wild hand slapping at Nicole’s side as Wynonna steadied herself. Waverly rushed to help Chrissy and Kate unpack, while Nicole started to unpack their own wagon.

She watched as Doc dismounted his horse, stomping around the new camp as he ordered Rosita to start unpacking his tent. Rosita rolled her eyes at his gruff tone and tugged at the white canvas tent violently. Nicole ignored him for the most part. She was tired. The adrenaline high from the Pinkerton bust, having faded to near exhaustion as she started to organize the things she unpacked.

The gang was efficient at setting up new camps. Within an hour, the tents were all set up, and Shorty was already working on supper. Nicole and Waverly had drifted apart as they had been working, but as the last bits of camp were set up, they had started to make their way back to each other. Going back to sleeping in tents would be an adjustment, the luxury of staying in that old plantation house still fresh in Nicole’s mind despite the time spent in the shack.

“Don’t you fucking touch her,” Wynonna voice cut through the sleepy morning silence. Nicole could see Waverly tense at the sound, the gang collectively looking craning their heads towards the commotion. Doc stood dumbfounded, his cheek red as if it had just been slapped. By the way Wynonna stood defiantly he probably had been. Alice was tucked into her mother’s side, her face buried into the scratchy pant fabric.

“I’m sorry,” Doc whispered, his voice menacing as his eyes locked onto Wynonna. “Am I not allowed to care for my daughter,”

“Oh, like you ever took care of her before,” Wynonna scoffed, “Like I said, don’t fucking touch my daughter,”

“Don’t you forget, woman, that’s she my daughter too,”

“Not anymore, you lost that the moment you decided to drown the fucking ship boys,” Wynonna seethed, her hand falling to her holster. Nicole jumped between the two then, grabbing Wynonna’s arm and moving it away from her holster.

“You gonna shoot me, Wynonna?” Doc growled, “Must I remind you that I am the _fastest_ draw in the west,”

“Hell has no fury as a mother’s rage,” Wynonna sneered back, pushing against Nicole’s grip on her arm. Nicole pushed her further away from Doc, her eyes darting to Waverly as she pulled Alice from Wynonna side and led her away from the argument. “If I see you anywhere near Alice, I’ll shoot you between the eyes faster than you can even find your pistol,” Wynonna let Nicole push her then, successfully separating the two of them. Doc, for his part, didn’t bring a rebuttal and instead scoffed at the situation, storming to his tent. Wynonna was nearly shaking as she made her way towards Waverly and Alice sitting together on Nicole’s cot.

“We’re staying with you from now on, Babygirl,” Wynonna sighed, blowing at some hair that had fallen over her eyes.

“Uh,” Waverly mumbled, her eyes darting between Nicole and Wynonna, “I was, um, I was kinda planning on staying in Nicole’s tent,” Nicole could feel a small smile tugging at her lips, but refused to show that happiness to Wynonna. Wynonna was still angry, and the last thing Nicole needed was for Wynonna to punch her.

Wynonna’s eyebrows scrunched together as she turned to look at Nicole, her eyes slowly taking her in as if she was remembering every detail about her, “Well, ain’t that something,” Wynonna chuckled, shaking her head.

“Wynonna,” Waverly warned, much to Wynonna’s delight it seemed.

“No, no, that’s fine,” Wynonna backpedaled, “I can, uh, I can stay,”

“You and Alice can stay with me,” Gus interrupted, having apparently heard enough of the conversation to save both Nicole and Wynonna from further embarrassment.

“Oh, Gus, no, that’s fine. We can stay with Dolls or-” Wynonna argued, only to be cut off by Gus.

“Please, the tent is much too big for just one,” Wynonna gave her a sad smile but nodded.

“Sure, of course,” She agreed, “Alice, help me with your things. We’re gonna move them over to Aunt Gus’s tent.

The little girl started piling her things up quickly, moving her dolls and her favorite book to Gus’s tent first. Nicole helped Wynonna move a few chests to the back of the large tent, dodging the scattered toys that were now in the tent as she did so.

There were a few curious glances as they moved the stuff into Gus’s tent. While Wynonna didn’t always stay with Doc, the very public fight had made the move obvious. Soon enough, however, everyone was too tired to watch as the trio finished moving. The toll of the night before had fully taken Nicole by then, her feet staggering underneath her despite her years of walking. Wynonna tucked Alice into a small sleeping bag before going back to join Nicole outside Gus’s tent.

“Haught,” Wynonna called, a large yawn breaking her face once the word left her mouth. “Thank you,” She said, reaching out her hand for Nicole to shake. Nicole knew it was more than a friendly act of contact. Wynonna didn’t do civility often, and shaking hands was one of the most civil things she could’ve done then. Nicole took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly as Wynonna nodded towards her.

Nicole turned away from her, a little more awake when she saw Waverly still sitting on her cot. Nicole hurried back over to Waverly, a small smile on her face as she neared the tent. She hadn’t had anyone stay in her tent in a long time, and the fact that it was Waverly Earp made her sure she had died during the gunfight.

Waverly gave her a sleepy smile when she ducked into the tent, “What was Wynonna telling you?” She asked, staring up at Nicole.

Nicole plopped onto the cot, tugging at her boots impatiently, “She was just thanking me for helping her move into Gus’s tent,” She tucked her boots under the cot and sighed, “And maybe for not letting her shoot Doc,”

“It sure has been a mess,” Waverly sighed, leaning her head against Nicole’s shoulder.

“We need to get some sleep while we can,” Nicole acknowledged, leaning her head against Waverly’s.

“Hmm, hold me for a minute?” Waverly asked, her words brushing against Nicole’s neck pleasantly.

“Of course,” Nicole agreed, leaning back against the wagon that propped up her tent. Waverly curled into her then, half on top of her and half on the cot. Nicole didn’t mind when Waverly started to snore against her chest softly, and soon enough Nicole was snoring as well.


	9. The Cards You're Dealt

Doc had forgotten to mention that the new camp had once belonged to a crazy group of mountain folk known as the Murphees. It wasn’t that much of a problem; they were too scared to try and take on the entire gang. For Nicole, however, it was a pain in the ass. She wasn’t trying to avoid Doc, per se, but she was enjoying being back in the mountains she had once called home. And maybe without Doc always in her ear, she was able to think a little more clearly.

Nicole caught sight of some of the crazed mountain folk setting up a pitfall trap close to the road. She sighed to herself as they yelled at one another about her approaching. They weren’t the smartest of people, and Nicole figured they were probably related to the folks in Butcher Creek since there weren’t many marrying options in Annesburg. Even King had picked up on the Murphees antics, lowering his head for Nicole to pull her gun. The Murphees preferred axes and shotguns compared to repeaters and revolvers. Nicole didn’t mind, having bagged a nearly new double-barreled shotgun from them a few days prior.

The Murphees began to curse her, blasting patterns at the sky as Nicole steered King further away. She let out a few warning shots of her on, the dirt kicking up dramatically at one of the man’s feet. Nicole spurred King out of their gun’s range, sighing as she heard their heavy footfalls in the woods. King swerved away from them, running circles around them. Nicole eventually lost them, circling back over the mountain and following a different path back to camp. She didn’t need to deal with both the Murphees and Doc’s rage if she led them back to camp.

His mood swings seemed to be getting worse. One minute he would be fine, and the next, he would be damning Nicole and everyone else in camp to hell. Bobo seemed to avoid his wrath more often than not, and Nicole regretted letting the man whisper in Doc’s ear for so long. When she returned to camp, they were huddled together, planning, Nicole was sure, a dumb idea that Bobo had somehow convinced Doc he needed to lead.

“Run into trouble?” Gus asked, pointing to the shotgun in Nicole’s hand

“Sorry, Gus,” Nicole apologized, stuffing the gun back into her saddle, “Ran into some Murphees,”

Gus nodded, wiping the sweat from her brow as she grinned up Nicole. They had buried Curtis’s things the day after they arrived at the new camp. It had been hard on everybody in camp. It was even hard on Doc who had had his head in his ass for the past week. But Nicole noticed that for the most part, Gus had seemed to be doing okay. Nicole could tell having Wynonna and Alice stay with her was helping. It was hard to be too upset with the little girl playing dolls at your feet. “Your girl’s been looking for you, she’s down by the creek,” Nicole tried to reel in her smile at the mention of Waverly, but just couldn’t seem to do it. Gus chuckled at her, “Give me the reins. I’ll tie him up,”

Nicole threw her legs over and onto the ground quickly, King shifting slightly at the speed from which she dismounted. She handed the reins off to Gus and smiled appreciatively at her as she sauntered down the hill toward the small creek near camp.

Waverly was sitting by the creek, Alice splashing at the water’s edge under the watchful eye of her Aunt. Nicole sneaked down the embankment, making sure not to step on any loud twigs. Alice spotted her before Waverly, Nicole motioning for Alice to be quiet with a single finger to her lips. Alice grinned brightly, nodding obviously the way young children do before staring straight at Waverly with a small smile on her face. Nicole could hear Waverly asking Alice what was wrong, and if she needed anything, the distraction just long enough for Nicole to make it to Waverly.

“Gotcha,” Nicole teased, grabbing Waverly waist so she wouldn’t fall into the water. Waverly gasped, turning to slap at Nicole’s shoulder while Alice Michelle was doubled over laughing. Nicole chuckled, nodding over to Alice.

“You’re teaching her bad things,” Waverly admonished, pushing Nicole away, only to grab her shirt collar at the last second and pull her into an innocent peck.

“Perhaps,” Nicole grinned down at Waverly, moving to sit on beside her, “But that was just too much fun to pass up,”

“You’ve been in a good mood,” Waverly acknowledged, brushing the hair out of her face as she watched Nicole get situated on the shore.

“I’m surprisingly happy. You wouldn’t know who was responsible for that, would you?” She teased, grinning wide at Waverly. 

“Really, though. I know you mentioned you were from here. Did you miss being away from home?”

Nicole chuckled at that, shaking her head, “Darlin’ this hasn’t been home for some time, not since my daddy swung at least,”

“You don’t talk about him much,” Waverly sighed, pulling at the lush grass that grew around the creek.

“Don’t think about him too much,” Nicole shrugged, “He weren’t around much, always runnin’ around with his own gang of criminals. Mama taught me to read with the articles in the paper about him,”

“Really?”

“Oh, sure. We couldn’t afford any books, and she only bought papers when he would write her about some dumb thing they did. Then he come riding up the road like he weren’t a wanted man, promise mama he’d stay on the right side of the law. ‘Course, you see how that worked,”

“What’d he do? When he’d live with y’all?”

Nicole shrugged, “He worked. Refused to work in the mine, though. He trapped mainly, brought in a good bit of money. Annesburg doesn’t have a grocery, so he was able to sell the meat and hide for a good price. That’s the times I remember him when we were out tracking or hunting together,”

“I’m sorry he was like that,” Waverly sighed, placing a hand on Nicole’s thigh.

“Eh, I got over that a long time ago. He didn’t do Mama and me right, but he never hit us, and he always sent us money when he could. The last time I saw him, he was behind bars, all beat up and bloody. He told me not to worry about him no more, and then he gave me his hat, and that was it,”

Waverly just stared at her for a moment, and Nicole wasn’t too sure if she was gonna kiss her or cry for her. The moment, however, was broken by Doc’s hollering, and Nicole wished for just a minute that she and Waverly could just run off into the woods before anybody noticed. Then she remembered Chrissy and Gus and all the others that didn’t deserve to be stuck with whatever Doc was turning into recently. So, she stood, offered a hand to Waverly, and called over Alice. Alice clutched one hand as Waverly intertwined the fingers on the other with hers. They made their way up the embankment quickly, the sound of Doc’s voice echoing off the rocks around them.

Doc stood in the middle of camp, ranting about something or the other before he pointed to Nicole, the haze lifting from his eyes.

“Haught, c’ mere,” Nicole stepped forward, Doc grabbing her sleeve and yanking her towards him. “I have a plan that I need your assistance with,” He rambled, unfolding a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping the sweat from his forehead. Nicole noticed the splatters of blood on the white fabric.

“Bobo and I are headed to St. Denis. He got word of Clootie’s son, the big one. He’s swinging, Nicole,”

“You want to go back to St. Denis? After all the shit we stirred there?”

“I want to see Clootie’s boy swing, dammit!” He growled, “It’s gonna bring her so much pain, and it’s going to be so beautiful,”

“This ain’t the time for this, Doc,” Nicole argued, “We’ve got too much heat on us,”

“What’s happened to you, Haught? Once so loyal and obedient,”

“I’m still loyal,” Nicole seethed, “I just think it’s strange you keep listening to a man that _always_ seems to know the whereabouts of Clootie’s men!”

“Stay here for all I care,” Doc scoffed, “Play house with that whore you’ve got dressed up as a lady,”

Nicole gritted her teeth to keep from punching him. She wouldn’t be any use to anyone with a bullet hole through her head, “No, I’ll go,”

“The prodigal son,” Doc sneered, “Mount up, we’re leaving now. Bobo’s already at St. Denis,”

“Of course, he is,” Nicole sighed.

“Try to have some Goddamn respect, Nicole,” Doc huffed, leading the way to the horses.

* * *

The ride to St. Denis was uneventful. Doc would occasionally rage about how disrespectful the gang had gotten while he was away, how they had forgotten their place. Nicole was sure he was referring to her, Dolls, and Wynonna, but she couldn’t find it in her to care. He’d occasionally come back to his senses, explaining the plan of how they’d watch Clootie’s son be hanged, and then they would leave unnoticed.

Doc had grown his beard out just for this occasion, blending in better with the good folk of St. Denis. Nicole, on the other hand, had to tuck her hair into her hat, holding her tongue about how foolish the plan was on paper. Doc led her through the city, stopping his horse a few blocks away from where the hanging would take place.

“Bobo should already be there waiting. You should see him all dressed up like a high roller of St. Denis,” Doc laughed as if it was the funniest thing he’d ever seen, motioning for Nicole to follow him.

Bobo was waiting patiently by the platform, strolling over to them when they entered the park. He stared Nicole up and down, scoffing once to himself and then turning to Doc.

“I see there weren’t many takers in camp,”

“We have to make sure the bastard swings, Nicole might be doubting me but she’s got a steady hand,”

Nicole bit her tongue as the two discussed her as if she wasn’t standing there. She didn’t have the energy to get into an argument anymore. She didn’t have the strength to defend Doc anymore for that matter. Bobo glanced back at her, showing all his teeth like a cornered animal before he straightened his shoulders as the officers brought Clootie’s son onto the platform.

Doc swayed on the balls of his feet as they dragged the young man over the boards and set him underneath the noose. Nicole caught the two figures slinking through the crowd, thick dark hats covering most of their faces. Unfortunately, Bobo noticed them too motioning for Doc to see. The muscles in Nicole’s jaw tightened, and her hand rested on the butt of her pistol by reflex. Doc seemed please with the arrivals, nodding towards Bobo and slowly moving through the crowd.

The Chief of Police started his long-winded speech, highlighting the atrocities the youngest Clootie son had committed during his lifetime. Nicole weren’t too familiar with him, having only fifteen when his father swung he hadn’t gotten the chance to make a much of a name for himself as the Chief implied. Nicole followed Doc through the crowd until they were stood behind the two figures dressed in black. The few strands of golden hair sticking out of the hat of one was all Doc needed to see.

He stepped up to the figure to the right, his gun pressing into the man’s temple. Bobo had followed Doc’s lead, tucking his knife under the other figure’s neck.

“Don’t want you two ruining the show for all these fine people,” Nicole could hear Doc whisper, moving the man a bit to the point that Nicole could see his full face. Drek Clootie, Clootie’s oldest son, and the second in command. Constance was the other figure, her blonde hair sprawling behind her as Bobo pressed the knife harder into her throat.  
“And may the Lord have mercy,” The Chief of Police finished, motioning for his men to fasten the noose around the young man’s neck. They tucked cloth into his mouth, sweat falling from his face as he noticed his mother and brother incapable of doing anything. Nicole cringed as the lever was pulled, the man’s body dropping through the door and snapping tight as the rope caught. His foot twitched for a moment before he stilled. His glassy eyes popping out further than before as a young officer covered his head with a bag.

“Lord have mercy on all our souls,” Doc growled. Nicole could see it before it happened, Doc’s hand tightening around his gun, his eyes glassing over into a haze, and his finger reaching for the trigger. The sound of the gun gained everyone’s attention, Nicole cursing to herself as Doc fired two more rounds into the dead man’s chest. The wail of Clootie was easily heard, then the direct sound of another shot and Doc grunting in pain. Nicole reached for her gun, aiming to where Constance had last been only to find an empty space. She could hear people running for cover and knew they needed to go.

“Doc,” Nicole called, grabbing at the man’s shoulder. He winced against the touch, blood already seeping through the white shirt. “We got to go,” Nicole ordered, supporting him as they waddled to the hitched horses. To Nicole’s surprise, Bobo was already there, unhitching the horses and moving to help Doc onto his.

Armed city police ran by them, hollering orders at each other as they began to fire towards the park. Nicole looked on bewilderedly as the police fired at the few darkly dressed figures running through the city. Nicole wasn’t about to find out if the police would notice their mistake and instead mounted her horse to follow Doc and Bobo out of the city.

King slowed to a trot behind Doc’s horse, the trio giving their horses a break after hightailing it out of the city. Nicole shook her head, lifting her hat to let the hair fall from its spot stuffed into her hat.

“You alright, Boss?” Bobo asked, looking over to Doc. Doc’s shoulder had a small patch of blood, a perfect bullet hole piercing through the muscle, but it wasn’t spreading.

“I’m fine,” Doc huffed, a small cough leaving him as he did, “There’s bound to be some hiccups in the plan,” Doc chuckled.

Nicole looked between the two, both of them grinning like the cat that got the cream, “A plan? That was your plan?” Nicole asked, “Shooting a man in broad daylight surrounded by people?”

“A plan to get some heat off of us, Haught,” Doc explained, “Bobo tipped the police off earlier, said he had seen some suspicious men in black gathering around the gallows,”

“You planned to start a shoot-out in the middle of the Goddamn city, hoping that the law would remember some vague tip about men in cloaks?” Nicole hissed, leaning forward in the saddle and causing King to shift.

“I know you’re one of the sensitive types, Haught, but it had to be done. Getting the law on Clootie’s back gets the law off ours,” Bobo sneered, the ever knowing look in his eyes.

“By risking getting caught in the crossfire!”

“Hush, the both of you,” Doc sighed, “The plan worked so there ain’t no use debating it. We still need a few hits,” 

“Cause Haught lost the money,” Bobo interjected.

“We still need a few hits,” Doc continued, “And we need some noise,”

“Noise?” Nicole scoffed, “That weren’t enough noise back there,”

“We need some real noise,” Doc explained, “Some government noise. Then we can all get out of here,”

“Doc,” Nicole sighed.

“I have a plan, Nicole,” He reached into his satchel, wrapping a thin piece of cloth around his arm to slow the bleeding, “We need to split up, meet back at camp. And Nicole,” He called, staring at her as she moved King forward, “Have some gottdamn faith,”

* * *

Doc stopped asking for her help after that, and instead relied more on Bobo than ever. Wynonna had been spending more time with Dolls, and that strained the already difficult relationship Doc and Dolls had. Dolls and Nicole had taken it in stride, planning their own ideas while Doc ran around Annesburg trying to earn money, Bobo by his side for most of it.

Nicole wasn’t too sure what Doc was doing anymore. He had gotten involved in some nasty business with the government and the Wapiti Indian tribe. He had befriended a young man from the tribe, and offered him his assistance. The young man had been thankful, trusting fully in Doc in the way only young fools did. Nicole should know, she had been one. Nicole knew Doc wouldn’t have gotten involved. He never did anything if it didn’t benefit him.

“Eagle Flies was in camp again today,” Dolls shook his head, lighting the cigarette in his mouth, “This is a new low, even for Doc. Using those boys’ anger to get the heat off of us. He’s killin’ those boys you know,”

“I know,” Nicole sighed, “The boy’s father, Rains Falls I think, came into camp the other day. Doc ignored him,”

Dolls grumbled to himself, throwing his cigarette into the woods stomping his feet impatiently. “We gotta start getting folk out, Nicole. I’m tired of sitting. I’m tired of waiting,”

“I know, I know. You talked to Wynonna about it?”

“She wants out more than we do,”

“Good, keep her updated. I’ll talk to Nedley tonight when Doc’s gone,”

Nedley agreed immediately, reveling to Nicole that he and Shorty had been discussing how to leave since the bank robbery in St. Denis. It surprised Nicole more than it should as if she was the only one in the gang with a brain in her head. Nedley had basically raised her and had instilled the morals that were making her leave in the first place. Still, to see the man that had raised her, and an old-timer in the gang, want out reassured Nicole that she was doing the right thing.

Time was moving faster than ever, it seemed. Doc was popping in and out of camp running errands like he had once had Nicole do. Nicole could admit that it was a little bittersweet, staying back while Doc went insane. He had always been willing to risk her neck but never his own, and now she was the one sitting in camp making plans. Dolls had been enjoying the time off as well, he and Wynonna growing ever closer as they discussed escape plans. Waverly was less chatty about it. She had already convinced the girls that Doc’s behavior had been strange. It didn’t take much for either of them to agree. Both Rosita and Kate had already started to pack their bags as inconspicuously as they could. Doc seemed too busy to notice, and even if he did, he didn’t bring it up to anyone.

“You seem exhausted,” Waverly sighed, crawling up the small cot and practically laying on top of Nicole. They had long since stopped trying to make excuses for sharing the one-person cot.

“I am,” Nicole sighed, “I just keep thinking about all those people we robbed, all those people we killed. All for what? Because Doc told us to?” 

“It’s all gonna change now,” Waverly sighed, “Just a few more days. Shorty and Nedley are leaving tonight, Jeremy and Robin are leaving tomorrow, and Gus and the girls a few days after that,”

“I still think Gus should go with Shorty and Nedley,”

“She won’t leave the girls. Kate and Rosita still have some arrangements to make. They don’t have any hidden money, and it’s already hard to find work when you’re a single woman,”

“I know,” Nicole sighed, running a hand up and down Waverly’s back absentmindedly. Moments of peace never lasted long in the camp, though, and especially not with Doc on his daily rampage.

“Roundup, boys!” Doc hollered before a coughing fit interrupted him. Nicole stared at him from her tent, Waverly sitting on the cot bewildered at how fast Nicole had moved from underneath her. “We got a hit!”

“You and Bobo?” Dolls asked, his shirt unbuttoned to reveal his barrel chest.

“No,” Doc seethed, wiping at his mouth with the now pink-tinted cloth, “We, the gang. Unless there is something, you all want to tell me? We’re still a gang, aren’t we?”

“Of course, Boss,” Dolls drawled, buttoning his shirt back and darting his eyes towards Nicole.

Doc mumbled something to himself before moving to mount his horse, “Robin, Jeremy, Nicole, mount up. Mr. Dolls do as you wish,”

Nicole looked back at Waverly before moving to mount her horse. Dolls was behind her, a scowl firmly etched on his face. Doc didn’t seem to notice the hesitation of all of them, even Robin and Jeremy taking a moment before they walked to their horses.

“Very good, now ride!” Nicole spurred King to follow, the realization that Doc wasn’t even informing them of the plan irritating her more than it should. He had been so out of it recently, so in his own head. Dolls’s horse snorted beside her. Dolls locked eyes with Nicole, an unspoken conversation that Nicole understood loud and clear. She stared ahead after that, knowing that whatever this hit was, it was going to be their last.

Doc led them up through Annesburg and down to St. Denis, ignoring questions being thrown at him from Jeremy or Robin. Once they entered the city, he began to address each gang member separately. They were boarding the train in St. Denis, Doc and Bobo would board the car nearest to the engine, Jeremy and Robin in the middle, and Nicole and Dolls would board the back cars. Doc seemed to be proud of his plan, despite the gaping holes in it. He was looking for government money, Army payroll. Nicole wasn’t sure how he knew the payroll was going to be on this specific train, but it was no doubt dubiously gotten.

They dismounted their horses outside the train station, hoping that the workers around wouldn’t take much notice of the suspicious men smoking by the station. Nicole could hear the train in the distance and noticed Doc’s hand twitching against the butt of his revolver. The train hurtled towards the station, the rails shaking against the earth as they waited. Until it passed them.

“Should I get on now?” Nicole asked, ignoring the anger that flashed behind Doc’s eyes.

“Get to the damn train,” Doc growled, moving to mount his horse.

The others followed, the horses’ hooves thumping against the ground nearly as loud as the train. There was a flat car used for storage that Nicole knew was their only option for getting onto the train. She moved King forward, passing Jeremy and Robin as she zeroed in on the flatbed. Dolls was on her heels, moving up in formation. He moved to jump, his feet steady despite the high speeds, and leaped to the train. He landed with a heavy thud, his body bouncing at the contact before he was back on his feet. His horse diverted to the right, the train too frightful to run beside without a rider.

“Nicole!” Dolls shouted, ducking behind some stacked crates just as one of the train’s guards started firing. He was standing on top of the car that backed up to the flat car. Nicole pulled her revolver out on reflex and shot him cleanly, his body sliding off the train from the force.

Dolls nodded his thanks, motioning for Nicole to jump. Nicole took a deep breath, moving her feet out of the stirrups as she shifted her weight higher onto the horse. King snorted underneath her, no doubt confused and as anxious as Nicole. She shifted her weight one more time before pushing off of King. She landed loudly, her bad shoulder breaking her fall. Dolls moved to help her up, both of them ducking as gunshots echoed around them. Some more guards were coming through the cars, and Dolls pushed Nicole over to take cover. Nicole got back to her feet, watching as Dolls handled the guards.

“We have to move up,” he ordered. Nicole took the repeater that was strapped to her back and began loading it, the thought of facing yet another group of train guards not sitting right with her. She and Dolls moved effortlessly through the train, joining Robin and Jeremy near the engine.

The law had arrived quickly, far too quickly for it not to have been planned, and Nicole fired at a few lawmen on horses. Robin was going to stop the train before Dolls ordered him not to do anything like that. Nicole could feel her heart beating through her chest, the adrenaline slowing as she had to figure out how to escape. Because she had to escape, there was too much shit to do.

“Get to the engine car. Kill the engineer, but do not stop the train,” Nicole ordered. Robin nodded, moving to do as she ordered. Then suddenly a shot rang out around them. Nicole was sure Robin was dead, her hand unholstering her weapon as she spun around to shoot at whoever shot at them. A man stood on top the armed car, his arm thrown out and a revolver in his hand. Nicole fired once, the bullet slicing through the man’s skull. Except, it weren’t Robin the guard was aiming for, and instead, Dolls flew off the back of the train. Doc hollered something, turning back to get Dolls with Bobo at his side. Nicole stuck her head outside the cart, watching as Dolls waved the train off, obviously not hurt by the bullet.

Robin peeked his head from over a crate, nodding to Nicole as he moved again to go after the engineer. Nicole and Jeremy moved to the guarded car, the door shut tight. If the payroll was on this train, it had to be in that car. Nicole pushed Jeremy back, pulling some dynamite from her satchel. Jeremy’s eyes grew large before he ducked behind some barrels a few yards from the car. Robin leaped down from the guarded car, landing on his feet as he confirmed the engineer was dead. He took cover by Jeremy as Nicole placed the stick of dynamite on the door. She lit it, and hightailed it a safe distance away. The dynamite went off, shaking the entire train and blowing a hole through the metal of the car. Nicole carefully squeezed her way into the car, being careful not to slice herself on any of the torn metal. Doc was finally fucking right about something. Nicole’s eyes bulged as she glanced at the bags with **Army Payroll** printed across the canvas.

“We got something,” She whispered to herself before turning her head towards her companions, “We got something!” She yelled, grabbing the nearest bag to her and throwing it out to Robin. Robin caught it with ease, motioning for another one. Nicole tossed two more out before grabbing on herself.

“We have to get off this train,” She ordered, poking her head around the engine and seeing the blasted bridge.

They threw the money over the side first, following soon after with themselves. Nicole groaned as dirt flew around her and landed in the collar of her shirt. The sound of hooves alerted her to Doc and Bobo’s presence, the absence of Dolls obvious.

“Where’s Dolls,” She asked, moving to stand.

“Gone, I’m afraid,” Doc sighed, sounding as if the thought didn’t bother him. As if he hadn’t once considered Dolls a brother.

“Gone?” Nicole growled, “What do you mean gone?”

“Arrested,” Bobo interjected, “We had to leave him.

“Doc,” Nicole shook her head.

“It was the only choice, Nicole. You know that,”

“Doc!” Nicole argued, moving to grab him or plead to him or punch him; she wasn’t too sure.

“I am sorry, but we have to get out of here,” Doc ordered, “Met up back at camp. Make sure you aren’t followed!”

Nicole stood there, watching as Doc and Bobo fled. The heaviness in her chest was nearly suffocating as she realized it was really over. The life she had led, the gang, it didn’t mean anything anymore.

“Robin, do you know where Rosita and Kate are headed? The business they need to attend to?” Nicole asked, her voice quiet.

“I do,” Jeremy interjected, “They’re gonna go to the train station at Emerald Ranch tonight,” 

“You go too,” Nicole ordered, “Go now. Meet them there and give them this,” Nicole ordered, lugging the bag of money she had onto Jeremy’s horse. “Give one to Gus too,”

“What about you?” Robin asked, looking at the four bags of money.

“I got money. I need y’all to be safe, understand?”

“Understood,” Robin nodded, strapping the two bags of money down to his saddle. There was enough money for all of them, and Nicole would be damned if Doc got his hands on any of it.

“Go, now,” Nicole ordered, mounting her horse.

“We’ll see each other again,” Robin smiled, holding out a hand for Nicole to take. Nicole sighed, shaking his hand and nodding.

“Be safe,” Jeremy ordered, leaning over and squeezing Nicole’s arm.

Nicole nodded, steering King in the direction of camp before fleeing. This was the end. It had to be the end.

* * *

King snorted loudly, rearing his head up as Nicole stopped him suddenly in camp. It was eerily quiet, not a soul walking around the camp. She walked to the fire, spotting Doc in his tent, papers, and chairs flipped around him.

“At least you haven’t left,” he seethed, stomping over to Nicole.

“What?” Nicole stuttered, stumbling over her feet as she backed away from Doc.

“Shorty and Nedley are gone, took Chrissy with them. Cowards, fucking all of them,” Doc moved away then, spitting into the fire as he passed. Nicole glanced back at her tent, Waverly and Wynonna staring back at her. She walked over to them, glancing around the camp for Rosita or Kate.

“You okay,” She asked, cupping Waverly’s cheek as she approached. Waverly nodded, stepping closer to Nicole. “Wynonna?”

“I’m fine,” Wynonna reassured, “He said Dolls was arrested?”

“I don’t know,” Nicole sighed, “I’m sorry,” Wynonna nodded, her hand going to cover her mouth as she took in the information. “Where’s Rosita and Kate?”

“They’re in Gus’s tent. Doc went berserk when he saw that Shorty and Nedley left,” Waverly explained, “They’re scared, Nicole,”

“Understandable,” Nicole sighed, “I sent Jeremy and Robin to the Emerald Ranch train station, said to meet the girls there. They have money, all the money we got from the train,”

“What?”

“I’m not letting Doc take any of it!” Nicole whispered, “But y’all need to go, all of y’all. Once he finds out, they aren’t coming back…Waverly, I don’t know. I don’t know where his head’s at. I don’t know what’ll do,”

“No,”

“Yes,” Nicole argued, “You tell them to run, and you take your sister, and you take Alice and follow them,”

“Nicole, no,” Waverly protested, grabbing Nicole’s hands that had been moving frantically, “No, I’m not leaving you,”

“Waverly, please,”

The words left Nicole’s mouth like a plead with just a little desperation leaking into it, but she didn’t exactly care. Before Waverly could respond, however, Wynonna interrupted them, pulling Nicole away.

“You okay?” Nicole asked immediately, looking back suspiciously at Doc’s tent.

“I’m good, but I saw something,”

Nicole stared at Wynonna for a moment, the uncertainty on the other woman’s face worrying her to pieces. Wynonna was never uncertain. “When Bobo got back he headed off into the woods, met with a woman,”

“So?”

“It was Constance Clootie, Nicole,” Wynonna whispered, shaking her head, “That bastard, he, he’s been betraying us. He’s one of them, Nicole,”

“What? Are you sure?”

“I’m pretty fucking sure. You don’t think I can spot Clootie from a mile away?”

“No, I just,”

“Clootie had a deal with the Pinkertons, Nicole,” Nicole just stared at her for a moment, “He controlled them, paid for them whenever he needed them. Constance has kept that promise,”

“How do you know that?”

“It’s why Doc went to local sheriffs to have him swing. Bulshar was untouchable when it came to the government,”

“He’s a rat,” Nicole grumbled, shaking her head.

“Doc!” A voice yelled, both Nicole and Wynonna jerking at the familiar voice. “Doc,” The voice yelled again, Dolls limping into camp. “You left me!”

“I didn’t,” Doc argued, standing at the opening of his tent. Nicole could have sworn she saw fear in his eyes.

“You did!” Dolls seethed, “You left me, Doc,”

“I didn’t have a choice,”

“Bullshit!”

“Don’t listen to him, Doc,” Bobo ordered, circling around the two of them like a big cat hunting. “You did what you had to do,”

“You left me, Doc,” Dolls seethed, “You left me to die,”

“Stop with all this sentiment,” Bobo ordered, pulling his gun and pointing it towards Dolls, “You’re a coward,”

Before Nicole knew what she was doing, she had pulled her own gun out, aiming it at Bobo’s head as she glanced back at Dolls.

“Oh, how wonderful. Both your disloyal lackeys,” Bobo scoffed.

“He’s a traitor, Doc,” Nicole said, staring down her gun at the man, “Wynonna saw him in the woods with Constance Clootie,”

Bobo laughed at the accusation, swinging his gun towards Nicole this time, “You think he’s gonna believe that, Princess?”

Dolls pulled his gun then, protecting Nicole as she had him. Nicole shook her head, “She’s got ties to the Pinkertons, Doc. You know that!” Nicole yelled, looking over at him. “Think about it, Doc!”

“Stop this,” Doc yelled back, pulling his revolver, “I want one of you to tell me, who is betraying me?”

“Show him your brand,” Wynonna’s voice cut in, moving to stand by Dolls, “Show him, Bobo,”

“This is ridiculous,” Bobo seethed, “I am loyal. I am the _only_ loyal one here, Doc!”

“He let Clootie go, Doc. You had the chance to kill her when we went to St. Denis, but she disappeared. The bank job in St. Denis, the Pinkertons got there before we even made ground. Everything has been going to _shit_ since he started to run with us,”

“She’s lyyyinng,” Bobo called, his voice low.

“Think about it!” Nicole yelled.

“I don’t have a brand,” Bobo yelled, pulling at the neckerchief around his neck, “I am not a traitor!”

“Take your shirt off, Bobo,” Wynonna ordered.

“You think I’m lying?”

“Take your shirt off Bobo,” Doc ordered, staring his eyes not moving from his gun aimed at Dolls.

“You believe her? You believe that whore?”

“Do it,” Doc ordered.

Bobo grumbled to himself, his eyes darting from Dolls to Nicole to Wynonna. Finally, his eyes landed on Doc. He sighed once, shaking his head.

“Show me,” Doc ordered, moving over and grabbing Bobo by the shirt collar.

Bobo kept his fun pointed at Nicole and began to unbutton his shirt with one hand. He switched the gun to his other hand, his shirt falling slowly to the ground. A large brand stood out brightly against his skin in the middle of his back. Nicole shook her head as he turned to face Doc.

“I am not a traitor,” Bobo seethed.

“Doc!” Nicole warned, lowering her gun as she stared at the two of them.

“I am LOYAL!” Bobo screamed, spit flying as he drew his gun. A shot fired, blood spewing out behind Bobo’s shoulder blades. Bobo stumbled back, staggering slightly.

“You shot me,” He laughed, blood spluttering out of his chest wound, “You shot me pretty good,” He fell back with a thud. He stared blankly up at the sky, blood gurgling out of his chest wound with every breath he took. Nicole could only watch as the life drained from him, and his eyes grew glassy. Only the sound of Dolls and Wynonna’s footsteps pulling her out of the trance.

“Doc,” Nicole called.

“Go,” He ordered, holstering his weapon. “This is over,” He motioned to the camp, shaking his head. “All of you go,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's (mostly) a wrap, folks! There will be an epilogue to tie up the loose ends, and that will probably be up by the end of the week!


	10. Epilogue

Nicole ducked behind the bar as bullets splintered the wood and shattered the glasses on the back wall. Wynonna better hope she dies in the gunfight because what Nicole had planned would be a lot worse than a bullet to the heart. Nicole peeked over the bar, shooting a few rounds uselessly as she searched for an escape route. Wynonna was nowhere in sight, the patrons running for cover as the shootout continued.

Nicole fired once more, fleeing from behind the bar and crashing through one of the many rooms the place had. The girl in the room couldn’t have been older than sixteen, and Nicole resisted shooting the man on top of her.

“Mhmm, come to join us, sweetheart?” The man asked, missing half of his front teeth. Nicole grimaced, hitting the man over the head with the butt of her revolver. She groaned as the grip cracked from the force, the man’s limp body slumping over onto the poor girl. The girl, however, was unphased and pushed him off her.

Nicole glanced around the room, finding the window she had hoped would be in the room. It was stuck unpleasantly to the seal, and released with a wet pop that Nicole didn’t want to investigate as she moved to climb out the window and into the alleyway. Her boot slipped unpleasantly over the rubber seal, her foot hitting the ground on the other side and leaving a smear in the desert dirt. Yep, Wynonna was dead.

She moved through the shadows to her horse, noticing that Wynonna’s horse was still tied to the post. King reared up as she neared, the commotion from inside scaring him enough to want to bolt. Nicole calmed him before sighing to herself. She pulled the repeater from her saddle, loading it as she thought up ways to kill Wynonna. She could just shoot her, but that was much too easy. Maybe leave her out in the woods? Wynonna never had been very good at hunting.

Unfortunately for Nicole, she didn’t have much time to imagine ways to end Wynonna. Just as she finished loading her gun, Wynonna flew through the window, landing feet from Nicole.

“Fucking bastards,” Wynonna mumbled, getting to her feet quickly and firing a few rounds.

“Hurry up, Earp,” Nicole huffed, mounting her horse and fleeing before Wynonna could even get her horse untied.

Wynonna caught up soon enough, the horse’s ribs expanding as he took in deep breaths. Wynonna cursed at Nicole, telling her some variation of “slow the fuck down,” but Nicole ignored it.

“Waverly is gonna be _so_ angry,” She seethed, “A whore house? Really, Wynonna?”

“Be respectful! They’re called sporting houses,”

“I don’t care what they’re called! You told me you needed help with a bounty,”

“I did! Not my fault Jonas is a pervert,”

Nicole sighed, shaking her head. They had slowed the horses to a nice steady pace to the point where they didn’t have to shout at each other.

“Waverly is gonna kill me. I should kill you,”

“Please, Haught. We’re miles from home, Waverly won’t find out about any of this mess. I sure as hell won’t tell her,”

Nicole stopped King, staring at Wynonna as if she had just grown two heads. “Yeah, cause I’m sure the headline ‘Women Shoot Up Brothel’ won’t make the paper,”

“Hmm, people will think it’s just a fight between madams,” Wynonna shrugged, stopping her horse and waiting for Nicole to catch up, “Listen, I’m sorry alright? We’re close to Blackwater. I helped the saloon owner a while back. He gives me free drinks now,”

“No,” Nicole huffed.

“Overruled! We’re going,” Wynonna smirked, taking a side road that Nicole knew would lead to Blackwater. Why did she even try?

Although it had been years since the gang, Nicole was still leery of Blackwater. She had heard a few years ago that the law had found the money Doc hid while they were there. The money that the gang had to leave behind when his and Bobo’s ferry job went wrong. The law had found it close to their old camp, and it had infuriated Nicole just how careless Doc had been. Blackwater had once been a dream, but now Nicole realized it was never her own.

Blackwater was a desert town, all sandstone brick and dusty windows. Nicole hated it. The city had built up since she had been there last. Men seemed to be building on every street corner. They were huge buildings too, nothing like the buildings of the past. Some of the roads were cobblestoned like the streets in St. Denis, King’s hooves clicking against the street as Wynonna steered them towards the saloon.

“Now listen, the saloon owner kinda has a thing for me, but I did help him a while back and respectably,” Wynonna rambled, reminding Nicole for a moment of Waverly. “I’m just telling you not to think much of it. I am a taken woman,”

“You better be. Dolls already acts like a mopey child when you’re away,”

“Lord, I feel sorry for Gus and Alice with both of us away. Having to deal with mopey Dolls and Waverly? I’m glad I’m on the road,”

Nicole smiled at the thought. Gus had reunited with them completely by accident. She was out in Strawberry, working as a laundress when she saw Wynonna’s name in the paper for purchasing some land north of Strawberry. Nicole would never forget the joy on Gus’s face when she realized Wynonna wasn’t alone and instead found the group of them, sweaty and irritated while they built up the ranch.

Gus had been a big help on the ranch. Nicole was sure the woman knew everything there was to know about raising cattle. She was what they needed whenever something went wrong. The mother that none of them ever had, and for that, Nicole was grateful.

Wynonna tied her horse to a close-by hitch, motioning for Nicole to hurry despite it barely being noon. Nicole tied King to the post, wiping the sweat from her forehead as she crossed the street with Wynonna.

“Wynonna Earp,” A voice called the moment they walked into the bar.

“Bryce,” Wynonna nodded, “Got anymore thieves for me to handle?”

“No ma’am,” The man behind the bar smiled. He handed Wynonna a beer, quickly grabbing one for Nicole after Wynonna pointed her out to him.

“Drinking at noon, ladies?” A familiar voice called, Nicole’s heart thumping hard against her chest as she spun on her heel.

Kate was sitting at a table a few feet away from the bar, a small smile on her face as they stared at her. She looked them over before standing and making her way towards them, wrapping her arms around them despite the dust that covered both of their clothes.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Wynonna laughed, grinning wide despite the two women rarely getting along while the gang was intact.

“Come have a seat, ladies. My husband will be gone for a little longer,”

“Your husband?” Nicole asked, a smirk on her face that she tried hard to hide.

“Yes,” Kate sighed, “Thanks to the money, I was able to marry whomever I pleased. He just happens to be a big businessman,” Kate didn’t have to explain what money she was talking about. After Doc had killed Bobo, Nicole had escorted Kate, Rosita, and Gus to the Emerald Ranch train station. Robin and Jeremy had helped them pack the money into bags, most of them worn from years on the road. 

“I hate to ask, but you two have stopped outlawing?” Kate asked, covertly swatting at the dust that had stuck to her dress.

“Yes,” Nicole quickly replied, taking a sip of her beer, “Unfortunately, Wynonna dragged me into going after a bounty,”

“So, you’re a bounty hunter?” Kate asked, looking over at Wynonna now.

“Hmm, sometimes. You know me, hate being in one place too long. Hunting bounties lets me get out enough,” Wynonna shrugged.

* * *

Nicole had lost count of how many drinks the bartender brought over to their table. It had to be a few by the way Nicole’s face flushed. And the way her tongue felt in her mouth. She wondered how Wynonna was still throwing drinks back, but then she remembered all the times they had been in this exact situation.

Kate was still there, a bit tipsy herself if the way she swayed said anything. They had been trading stories for the past three hours, Kate’s husband showing up an hour into their reunion. He was a handsome man, thin and tall with a nice suit. If he weren’t Kate’s husband, Nicole probably would’ve called him a bastard. Even with him being married to Kate, he was probably a bastard, but he handled their tab after Bryce realized Wynonna wasn’t paying him with money or any other way. Plus, he seemed to be good for Kate. He came over and checked in on her, and then he would go back to the other corner of the bar to give them privacy.

“I can’t believe I wasted years on that man,” Wynonna huffed, taking a shot of whiskey and slamming the shot glass back to the table.

“Honey, no one wasted more time on Doc Holliday than me,” She sighed then, reaching over to put her hand over Wynonna’s forearm, “I burnt down a shed to get him out of jail. I went in there, guns cocked while the lawmen were busy putting out the fire. Lord, the boy they left on duty, couldn’t have been older than seventeen. He nearly shit his pants when he was me,” Wynonna laughed at that, shaking her head.

“I remember the story,” She said.

“I spent most my life with that man,” Kate continued, “Saving him. Losing him. I loved him at one time, called myself Kate Holliday longer than I’d like to admit, but he wasn’t meant for domestic life. He loved gambling and robbing too much,”

“I wonder whatever happened to him,” Wynonna sighed, more of a statement than a question.

“Most likely dead or in a well somewhere,” Kate shook her head, “He’d have to be for us to not hear about him in so long. He’s a colorful character,”

“He most certainly is that,” Wynonna called for another shot, and Nicole was sure they weren’t gonna be back home anytime soon.

* * *

Nicole groaned as Wynonna smacked her with her bedroll. It was early, far too early for how late they set up camp last night.

“We gotta start getting home, Haught,” Wynonna reiterated, moving to tie her bedroll to her horse.

“No,” Nicole whined. She knew she sounded like a child, but couldn’t find it in her to care. Wynonna might be able to get up after a night out, but Nicole couldn’t.

“C’mon, Waverly is waiting for you,” And dammit if Wynonna didn’t know how to make Nicole do something.

“Fine,” She mumbled, moving to stand, swaying slightly on her feet, “Oh fuck,” She whispered, moving quickly to puke away from the camp.

“Dammit,” Wynonna shook her head, “Get a hold of yourself you moron,”

It was gonna be a long ride home.

“You think what Kate said last night it true?” Wynonna asked, the two of them moving slowly along the road. They had just crossed the Montana River and would be home soon, much to Nicole’s relief.

“About what?” Nicole asked, moving King so he would avoid a rather nasty looking part of the road.

“Doc,”

Nicole’s ears pricked at that, the name that had seared its way into her brain. She only shrugged, though, “Maybe. Why? You want him dead?”

“Course not. I just, I don’t know what got into him when we last saw him,”

“I think he was sick, or maybe just mad,”

“He was always sick with something. Sick with greed, sick with worry. I just wish I knew what happened to him. He wasn’t always a bad man. My Uncle fought with him. Then he took me in after I ran from home,”

“I know,” Nicole agreed, “He weren’t always a bad man, and perhaps, in the end, he won’t be,”

“So, you don’t think he’s dead?”

“Sometimes, when I think back on it, I’m almost certain that man had immortality,”

“Better be careful, Haught. Next, you’ll be claiming Bobo was a demon, and then the church is gonna come after you,”

“Let ‘em,” Nicole shrugged.

“Don’t give them any fuel,” Wynonna admonished, “The preacher already hates ya cause the time you called Waverly an angel,”

“That’s cause he’s a creep that wants to marry her,”

“If only he knew, huh?”

“Yeah, if only he knew,” Nicole chuckled, urging King to pick up the pace. She had to get home.

King picked up the pace as they turned on the road to home, Wynonna’s horse keeping pace beside him. They hadn’t been gone long, only two days, but Nicole missed the ranch. She missed home. And just like that, it hit her like it never had before then. She had a home. After all of those years of running and all of those years of shooting people, she had managed to find a home. It was around two in the afternoon, so Nicole knew that most of the chores would have already been done. Dolls would have just returned from town, and they’d probably all be sitting on the front porch, Alice sitting by Gus or Waverly and trying her best to be an adult. The thought brought a smile to Nicole’s face.

The moment they crossed the threshold to the ranch’s property line, barks erupted from the house. A bolt of black and brown raced across the pasture, threatening growls falling from the mongrel’s lips.

“Charlie,” Nicole called, stopping the dog in his tracks. He tilted his head a bit, Wynonna and Nicole getting closer to him. He sniffed the air as they approached, his floppy ear moving slightly as the wind changed. Suddenly, he started to run again, his tail whipping back and forth so violently that it made a sound as it hit his body.

Charlie had been Dolls’s doing, having found the dog out in the slums of St. Denis when he was on a delivery there. He had asked around to see if anybody owned the mutt, but everyone was adamant that he wasn’t theirs. Nicole could have strung Dolls up when he returned with the dog. She always rather have a cat, at least they would be able to keep the mice out of the feed. What need did she have in a dog?

But it was too late then. The moment Alice set her eyes on the dog, he was hers. Nicole guessed the statement could have gone to Waverly too, seeing as the woman had practically nursed the dog back to health. Begrudgingly, Nicole had to admit he was the best watchdog she had ever seen. He was always on guard. Charlie knew if someone was coming up the road long before Nicole ever did. And if he was gonna have a purpose on the ranch, Nicole was glad it was protecting Alice and Waverly.

King trotted the rest of the way, vocalizing as they got closer to the house. Nicole could hear the other horses in the corral vocalize back, King living up to his full name after being the stallion of the herd. She could just make out Gus on the front porch, her thin frame bending slightly from age. She waved before ducking back into the house.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” She sighed when they got closer. Nicole was moving quickly to tie King to the hitch.

“Everything go alright while we were gone?” Nicole asked, moving to hug Gus as Dolls came out of the house, followed by the sound only Wynonna’s daughter could make.

Alice Michelle launched herself at her mama, wrapping her arms around her neck as she went into a spill about a snake she’d managed to kill. Nicole noticed the dress she was wearing was already brushing against her shins; the girl was growing like a weed. Dolls smiled as he watched the two of them hug. It seemed more often than not, mother and daughter were at each other’s throats lately, but for now, there was peace.

Nicole felt arms wrap around her middle, the smell that was only unique to Waverly hitting her nose. She turned in Waverly’s arms, grinning down at the shorter woman who had surprised her. Waverly darted up to kiss her, Nicole having to push her back a little as not to get carried away on the front porch around their family.

“Hello to you too,” Nicole smiled, brushing the hair out of Waverly’s face.

“I missed you,” She sighed, moving back to kiss her.

“So, what you didn’t miss me?” Wynonna’s voice cut through, Waverly pulling back and rolling her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Waverly drawled, dramatically pursing her lips as she moved towards Wynonna, “You want a kiss too?” she mumbled as she kept her lips pursed, moving to Wynonna with her arms out in front of her. Wynonna groaned, dodging Waverly and pushing her back.

“You fucking weirdo,” Wynonna laughed, dodging Waverly again before grabbing her by the sleeve and pulling her into a hug.

“Language,” Gus reminded Wynonna, moving to hug her too.

Nicole chuckled, Waverly, slipping out of Wynonna’s grasp and coming back to Nicole. She would always be amazed that this was all hers. That after all she did, she still got the chance to be happy.

“Y’all are filthy,” Waverly finally seemed to notice, “I’ll draw a bath. Don’t come into my house with muddy boots, either of you!” She instructed, moving inside quickly.   
While there were two houses on the ranch, they all stayed in the main house. Nicole and Waverly shared the bottom floor with Gus, while Dolls, Wynonna, and Alice slept in the loft. Recently, however, Alice had been sleeping on a pallet in Gus’s room, the clashing personalities of her and her mother coming into effect. Nicole reckoned that wouldn’t be the case for at least another week. They might be at each other’s throats a lot, but she knew Alice Michelle was just being Wynonna’s daughter.

Wynonna had called the bath first, nearly pushing Nicole off the porch as she rushed inside towards the washroom. Just a typical day, really. It gave Nicole time to get a bite to eat and unpack the small rucksack she had taken with her on the trip. She had just unbuttoned her blue work shirt when Waverly walked into their bedroom.

“Hmm, y’all catch the guy?” Waverly asked, her voice muffled by Nicole’s shoulder as Waverly wrapped her arms around Nicole’s waist.

“Afraid not,” Nicole laughed, “Wynonna started a shootout,”

“What?” Waverly huffed, spinning Nicole around to face her.

“Don’t worry, darlin’. We were both fine,”

“Don’t worry? Wynonna has to remember she’s not an outlaw anymore! I didn’t want you to go with her, you know? You aren’t her and Nedley. You aren’t the law,”

“Wynonna would never be the law,” Nicole reminded, wrapping her arms around Waverly, “And Nedley is the first sheriff in that strange little town. Chrissy told you how nice it was in her last letter,”

“I know,” Waverly huffed, her lip sticking out a bit as she thought about it, “I still didn’t want you to go,”

“I won’t be going on the next one I assure you that,”

“When you said letter, it reminded me,” Waverly trailed off, moving to the desk in the room and pulling out a letter from Jeremy and Robin.

“They okay?” Nicole asked, pulling the letter from the envelope.

“Look inside,” Waverly encouraged.

Nicole unfolded the letter, Robin’s neat script filling the page before a newspaper clipping fell from the folded-up parchment. Nicole picked the clipping up, a grainy photograph of a man and woman standing beside some crazy metal ball. Nicole squinted a bit, her eyebrows rising in surprise.

“Is that Rosita?” She asked, pulling the clipping closer to her face and ignoring the small print written underneath the photo.

“In the flesh,” Waverly laughed, craning her neck to see the picture herself as she moved closer to Nicole, “She married some rich inventor, that’s him beside her,” Nicole squinted again, reading the text underneath it and grinning.

“Well, I’ll be damned,”

* * *

That night, they stayed seated around the table long after they had finished eating. Waverly was perched in Nicole’s lap, a habit that Nicole would usually discourage, especially at the dinner table, but she had missed Waverly. Wynonna was doing a retelling of the shootout, describing how Nicole fled the scene and left Wynonna there to die.

“Be quiet,” Nicole laughed, “I was going to get my rifle,”

“Bullshit! You left me to die!” Wynonna wailed dramatically, causing Nicole to shake her head.

“Yeah, well, I learned that bounty hunting is not for me,”

“It most certainly isn’t,” Waverly said, glaring at her sister before tucking some hair behind Nicole’s ears.

“Oh, like you didn’t enjoy yourself? This woman was breaking hearts, left and right, you got what six tokens?” Wynonna teased, referring to the tokens the prostitutes handed out that could be used at the sporting house or at local businesses for goods. Waverly gasped at the admission, turning to stare at Nicole.

“Nicole Haught,” She admonished.

“Thanks to your sister, I couldn’t even trade them in for apples,” Nicole protested.

“Apples sure,” Wynonna interjected, throwing a bit of bread leftover on her plate at Nicole’s head.

“Wouldn’t dare dream of buying anything else,” Nicole promised, moving to kiss Waverly.

“Better not,” Waverly warned, closing the distance between them.

“Ugh, we’re eating,” Wynonna protested, despite everyone’s empty plate. Nicole just chuckled, flipping Wynonna off as she pulled away from Waverly.

Nicole had never had time to imagine home. When she was a child, home was just a little shack with barely enough food on the table. Then it was sharing a tent with strangers, and running with a pair of wide-eyed boys. She looked for home all over the country, running beside those boys who grew into men. To think that home was a bunch of splintered off gang members, cow shit, and a pair of hazel eyes, Nicole would have had to be crazy. Looking around, Nicole realized it was crazy, but it was hers. It was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who read and enjoyed this story! It's been a bit of an adventure writing it, and I hope I did the characters justice. Stay safe out there y'all!


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